2021 Election - School Board Trustees
The 2021 election will not only see potential municipal councillors on the ballot, but also Trustee candidates for our school boards. The City has been tasked with administrating the election for Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools and St. Albert Public Schools, so voters will have an option to select which board they are voting for when they head to the polls on October 18.
These roles are considered “part-time”, and details about the role and remuneration are available on the Public and Catholic websites.
From my limited perspective as a councillor who interacts with the boards, and more closely as a parent, challenges and opportunities that I suspect will be part of the next term’s work include:
Capacity challenges in terms of having enough space for growing enrolment. This is particularly urgent for high-school space, and will not be fully addressed with the Paul Kane expansion. St. Albert Public presented their capital plan to Council, which gives a sense of the urgency: https://youtu.be/XZuQ7So9bVQ?t=6823 (My kids will be entering high-school in a few years, so we’ll be directly impacted by this crunch.)
Decreasing per-student funding, due to static budgets and growing enrolment. With changes to provincial budgeting, all non-private schools are under increasing pressure to deliver more for less. I suspect the role of boards will include developing innovative strategies to continue to provide exceptional environments for our kids, in addition to advocacy efforts that champion the value of non-private schools in Alberta.
Aging infrastructure. Despite boards investing in reserves to address the issue of aging infrastructure, they have been forced to use these as stop-gap to maintain quality education due to the aforementioned reductions in per-student funding and lack of funding to address pandemic response. Again, the boards’ roles in addressing this issue will involve creative solutions and advocacy.
Lack of serviced school sites ready for development. Although St. Albert has set aside several school sites for future development (in Kingswood, Oakmont, Riverside, and Cherot), the Oakmont site is the only one that is ready to go. Considering that boards have said that Oakmont is not a preferred site, this creates planning challenges.
A dated curriculum (much of which hasn’t changed since I was a student in St. Albert), serious concerns about the recently-released draft curriculum, and overwhelming response of teachers regarding the proposed curriculum. I don’t know how they’ll respond to having to enact a curriculum in 2022 that, in its current form, is opposed by 95% of principals and 91% of teachers across the province.
Similar to the municipal council election, electors will also have to remain aware that changes to the Municipal Government Act risk allowing wealthy donors to control the outcome of the election. As I mentioned in my fundraising post, funder disclosures are not required until after the election. I’m concerned that a slate of candidates will be funded by a person or organization with a particular mandate, and residents will have no opportunity to see these conflicts prior to voting if candidates decline to voluntarily disclose funders prior to the election.
Again, my perspective on this role is limited, so I encourage anyone considering putting their name forward to reach out to current or retired trustees for more information about the role(s). Councillor Jacquie Hansen, who retired as a multi-term trustee in 2013 has said she’s welcome to talk to prospective candidates. Current Catholic Trustee Joe Becigneul and Public Trustee Cheryl Dumont, who has announced that she will not run in 2021, have also offered their availability. I’m sure that all the other Trustees would be equally open to discussing the role and upcoming challenges - They are all dedicated and caring public servants.
Additional information:
Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools: https://www.gsacrd.ab.ca/trustees/election2021/information-for-candidates
St. Albert Public Schools: https://www.spschools.org/board_governance/elections2021
Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord offre 2 postes à l’extérieur d’Edmonton, 1 pour un/e conseiller/ère catholique et pour un/e conseiller/ère publique. https://centrenord.ab.ca/elections-alias/information-generale
Natalie was elected to the St. Albert City Council for the 2017-2021 term and would be honoured to serve again from 2021-2025. For those wanting to support Natalie’s campaign, please consider signing up for a lawn sign or offering a donation. Thank you for your support!
For anyone considering running in the 2021 election, please feel free to reach out to chat if you’d like to know more about what the Council role entails. Before I ran, I met with all but one sitting councillor and a number of former councillors and mayors. All provided insight into the role and helped me understand whether I wanted to run. A Candidates Guide: Running for Municipal Office in Alberta is also an important resource for anyone considering a run.
