Across the Line - ELECTION EDITION - April 18, April 18, 2015 By-Election Edition. Timberline Local No. 9 - Political Engagement Mandate

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1 Across the Line Timberline Local No. 9 Box 5009 Drayton Valley Phone: Fax April 18, 2015 By-Election Edition Timberline Local No. 9 - Political Engagement Mandate To improve and promote public education, and ensure that our members and public are well informed about their selections for their trustee candidate. Does your candidate support public education? Will your candidate ensure that classroom learning conditions provide every child with the opportunity to succeed? In an effort to promote and improve public education and ensure members of the Timberline Local and public are well informed about their selection for their trustee candidate the local has sent a survey to each of the candidates running for trustee in Wild Rose School Division. The survey asked the candidates 8 questions. Government Funding As a trustee candidate, how will you plan to ensure that the school board gets the funding it requires? As a trustee candidate, how will you individually and as a board work with the provincial government on matters of funding adequacy and stability? School Infrastructure As a trustee candidate, how will you plan to manage issues related to school infrastructure, including whether a school should be closed? Student Assessments As a trustee candidate, what is your opinion on assessment, standardized testing and grading? Working with Teachers As a trustee candidate what is your opinions on teacher efficacy and how do you intend to support teachers work? School Board Budgeting As a trustee candidate, what is your opinion on the priorities for allocating school board funding? Student /Employee Respect and Diversity As a trustee candidate, what is your position on policies to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, transsexual, queer and questioning students and employees? Technology As a trustee candidate, what is your opinion about appropriate corporate partnerships and how to protect children from excessive commercialization? 1

2 Candidates for Drayton Valley - Ward 1 By-election Candidates for Rocky Mountain House - Ward 5 Russell Hickman (780) Wendy Snow (780) Heidi Hetherington - Elected by Acclamation 2

3 Why are Trustee Elections Important? School boards are responsible for the local governance of education and operation of local schools. They are elected by and accountable to the communities they serve, not just to the parents of students enrolled in school. School boards provide direction and make important decisions related to the operation of local schools. What school boards do Establish goals and priorities and set the overall direction for the school jurisdiction Advocate for public education and the local school jurisdiction Develop, acquire or offer courses, programs and/or instructional materials Adopt an annual budget and allocate funds provided by the provincial government Maintain and operate school buildings, buses and other board property Provide for parental and community involvement in schools Communicate with stakeholders (staff, students, parents or guardians, the public, Alberta Education) about school jurisdiction plans and results Select a superintendent of schools and oversee his or her administrative work Establish policies and rules on the provision of educational services and programs. These include policies and rules related to: student trips, student safety, school activities, school fees, student conduct and discipline student assessment, student attendance transportation and busing Trustees matter Voters place the management of their public school jurisdiction in the trust of the board of trustees. Trustees have a fiduciary duty to act honestly and in good faith. On behalf of the electors they make decisions about the board operation. Trustees represent the board and communicate with the public at school and board events and in meetings with school councils, parents or other members of the public. 3

4 Candidate Survey Results Candidate Russell Hickman, Ward 1 Drayton Valley Government Funding As a trustee candidate, how will you plan to ensure that the school board gets the funding it requires? In the long term, Alberta s model for funding schools must change. Per pupil grants, envelope funding and special grants are an administrative burden and inefficient. That being said, the funding model is not the critical piece in the short term, provincial education spending based on revenue from a volatile commodity is. The historical consequence is unpredictable and inadequate funding. The long-term effect is dangerous and corrosive: Albertan s disconnect from the idea of public education. Education is a public good, capable of securing our future. It is too important for funding to be determined by immediate political or financial conditions. I propose education funding be guaranteed by being based on a percentage of Alberta s GDP backstopped with a dedicated stability fund to even out commodity price fluctuations and business cycle downturns. This would give truly stable, adequate and predictable funding and recognize education s central role in the creation of an educated citizenry and of Alberta s economy. As an example, the government of Canada has committed to maintaining defense spending as a percentage of GDP in agreements with its international defense partners. In addition, I pledge to work towards replacing board reliance on property taxes for education funding. Replacing an education property tax rate set by the provincial government with wider sources of revenue will more likely result in a funding program that is transparent, predictable and adequate. As a trustee candidate, how will you individually and as a board work with the provincial government on matters of funding adequacy and stability? Individuality, I would lobby the government on points of democratic principle. Ministers of the crown must be held to their words and principles. Actions must speak louder than words. Equal opportunity for education must be such a foundational principle. Why should a cohort of children suffer through underfunded schools and larger classes when the next cohorts benefits from higher revenues In the short term, stakeholders at all levels in education must rally together and advocate as one voice for a broadening in revenue sources to pay for education and children s services. 4

5 Russel Hickman- Ward 1 Across the Line - ELECTION EDITION - April 18, 2015 As a matter of principle, if elected school boards are not empowered to act in the best interests of their community s students, another form of governance should be forum. Empower school boards or fire school boards. School Infrastructure As a trustee candidate, how will you plan to manage issues related to school infrastructure, including whether a school should be closed? Established procedures must be followed, and transparency, consultation and implementation must be compassionate and genuine. Safety, adequacy and cleanliness all currently the responsibility of boards but determined by GOA funding levels. Broadening out revenue sources and stabilizing revenue levels will empower boards to increase service levels in these areas. Student Assessments As a trustee candidate, what is your opinion on assessment, standardized testing and grading? Assessment, evaluation and communication of student learning are a professional responsibility. The methods of assessing and reporting are individual teacher and collective professional decisions based on accepted best practices. A trustee job is to provide the optimal learning conditions so that assessment, evaluation and reporting is accurate, meaningful and efficient. Improving learning conditions, and even the configuration of a communities' schools enables better assessment and evaluation practices. Working with Teachers As a trustee candidate what is your opinions on teacher efficacy and how do you intend to support teachers work? Teachers in Alberta are recognized as professionals. Unilateral decisions by other educational partners can adversely affect the classroom. The best decisions are made when teachers have helped to make them. All partners must be actively involved in educational policy-making, including budgeting. Funding directly impacts the ability of teachers to be effective and students to learn. Classroom learning conditions are a teacher s working conditions. It is my job to set policies that reflect stakeholder and community values that optimize classroom conditions and set both students and teachers up to be successful. 5

6 Russell Hickman - Ward 1 School Board Budgeting As a trustee candidate, what is your opinion on the priorities for allocating school board funding? Budget priorities should be principle based. Priorities should reflect the foundational statement, mandate, mission, vision and values of the board. Three-year plans and strategic priorities are another way of expressing priorities and goals of the division. School board budgeting flows from these considered documents. After meeting legal and ethical requirements, maintaining stable, predictable and adequate funding to maintain and improve learning conditions would always be my first budget priority. The Alberta Commission on Learning is a benchmark for school conditions in Alberta. Full implementation of appropriate recommendations must be our goal. Collective bargaining between the employer and bargaining unit is the best way to set pay levels. Student /Employee Respect and Diversity As a trustee candidate, what is your position on policies to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, transsexual, queer and questioning students and employees? LGBQT students and employees of WRSD are entitled to protection under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and have the right to a learning place or workplace free from discrimination and harassment. Many resources are available to help us meet this goal. Technology As a trustee candidate, what is your opinion about appropriate corporate partnerships and how to protect children from excessive commercialization? Gifts to schools from corporations or individuals are accepted and appreciated. However, gifts are accepted unconditionally and must not in return provide market access or satisfy a commercial motive. Public education must be protected, especially during times of underfunding, from corporate sponsorships and partnerships that remove methodology, pedagogical, and curricular decisions from teachers. Partnerships should be between equals and respect the goals of public education. Partnerships must take into account the full cost of technology ownership to the school/system. 6

7 Candidate Wendy Snow, Ward 1 Drayton Valley Government Funding As a trustee candidate, how will you plan to ensure that the school board gets the funding it requires? I plan to work with my fellow board members to lobby for more funding. As a trustee candidate, how will you individually and as a board work with the provincial government on matters of funding adequacy and stability? As a trustee I would not be individually working with the government but as one voice with my board. The concerted effort of a dedicated group will carry more weight than an individual. Again I would lobby with the board for funding and stability. School Infrastructure As a trustee candidate, how will you plan to manage issues related to school infrastructure, including whether a school should be closed? Fortunately at this time there are no looming closures in the division but I am positive the board would receive expert and adequate consultation on which to base decisions. I am also sure there is no blanket answer for every situation and decisions on any issues would have to be made after careful consideration and discussion. Student Assessments As a trustee candidate, what is your opinion on assessment, standardized testing and grading? My personal opinion on assessment and standardized testing and grading is that these are only some of the tools teachers should be utilizing when assessing competency in students. They have their uses but do not necessarily tell the bottom line of a student s knowledge or grasp of a subject. I feel that testing should be done within the first 3 months of the school year and used to assess where a student is and what needs to be done to get the student to where they should be. 7

8 Candidate Wendy Snow, Ward 1 Drayton Valley Working with Teachers As a trustee candidate what is your opinions on teacher efficacy and how do you intend to support teachers work? As I understand it, teacher efficacy is a teacher s belief in their ability to organize and take a course of action to bring desired results- (student achievement). I believe as a division we need to support our teachers by facilitating professional learning within professional communities. Within those learning communities we need to recognize that what a new teacher may need to improve their efficacy will be different from that of a veteran teacher. School Board Budgeting As a trustee candidate, what is your opinion on the priorities for allocating school board funding? After attending the Wild Rose budget meeting on April 14 th, I feel the division has a good plan on what the priorities should be. 1. Balance the budget 2. Maintain funding to schools 3. Maintain the 3 big rocks a. Inspiring Education b. Equity of access c. Healthy school/mental health 4. Maintain teaching positions Student /Employee Respect and Diversity As a trustee candidate, what is your position on policies to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, transsexual, queer and questioning students and employees? Upon searching the division s policies and procedures I didn t find any policies on protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, transsexual, queer and questioning students and employees. However I have recently met with the newly formed GSA at Frank Maddock High School as the school council chair prior to putting the GSA on the agenda for the next meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to further my knowledge of what a GSA is so that I could help support these students when they were presenting their group to the rest of the school council. I believe all staff and students deserve to be teaching and learning in a safe and caring environment and the division needs to have inclusive policies in place to support that. 8

9 Candidate Wendy Snow, Ward 1 Drayton Valley Technology As a trustee candidate, what is your opinion about appropriate corporate partnerships and how to protect children from excessive commercialization? Unfortunately the lack of adequate funding from the government means that corporate sponsorship is something that needs to be considered to make up the shortfalls. I feel it will require all stakeholders (including parents, teachers, principals, school superintendents, trustees and business leaders) to carefully consider a whole host of implications corporate funding will bring. Strict criteria would need to be set out with input from all stakeholders. 9

10 Acclaimed Candidate Heidi Hetherington, Ward 5 Rocky Mountain House Government Funding As a trustee candidate, how will you plan to ensure that the school board gets the funding it requires? As a trustee, I will advocate for reasonable and sustainable funding for our school division. Since all our funding comes from the government, I will encourage parents as well as students to speak with their government representatives about school division funding. As a trustee candidate, how will you individually and as a board work with the provincial government on matters of funding adequacy and stability? Both as an individual and as a member of the board, I will be an advocate for our school division to ensure we are getting the funding required to provide the best education we can for our students. School Infrastructure As a trustee candidate, how will you plan to manage issues related to school infrastructure, including whether a school should be closed? Our infrastructure is put in place to serve the members of our community, as well as the students within the school division. The challenge is to keep infrastructure both adequate and equal to the needs of the division and community. Student Assessments As a trustee candidate, what is your opinion on assessment, standardized testing and grading? In regards to student assessment, I think there are many ways students can display their knowledge on any given topic. We need to make sure we re facilitating and encouraging a diversity of learning styles. 10

11 Heidi Hetherington - Ward 5 Working with Teachers Across the Line - ELECTION EDITION - April 18, 2015 As a trustee candidate what is your opinions on teacher efficacy and how do you intend to support teachers work? Teachers are the backbone of our education system. The hard work they're putting in is critical to the success of our students. Every effort must be made to continue to give our staff the resources and support they need to deliver high quality education. School Board Budgeting As a trustee candidate, what is your opinion on the priorities for allocating school board funding? Being quite new to the school division, I plan on doing professional development in this area. I believe that securing adequate staff to properly service our community is of utmost importance. Student /Employee Respect and Diversity As a trustee candidate, what is your position on policies to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, transsexual, queer and questioning students and employees? I believe there needs to be a culture of respect and equality in regards to all people. No student should feel singled out for being themselves, and no students should have difficulty learning because they are afraid to be at school. Technology As a trustee candidate, what is your opinion about appropriate corporate partnerships and how to protect children from excessive commercialization? I think appropriate corporate partnerships in the form of sponsorships are helpful in certain situations, but I believe maintaining our integrity and protecting the rights and privacy of our students is a major priority. Did you Know The Apple Check mark symbol has been a part of the Public Relations Program with the Alberta Teachers Association and has been adopted by several other Teacher Associations around the world. 11

12 NOTICE OF BY-ELECTION LOCAL AUTHORITIES ELECTION ACT (Sections 12, 35, 46) WILD ROSE SCHOOL DIVISION No. 66, Province of Alberta Notice is hereby given that a by-election will be held for filling of the following office: Office(s) Number of Vacancies Trustee One (1) Ward Ward 1 Town of Drayton Valley and all that portion of Brazeau County lying west of the North Saskatchewan River Voting will take place on the 7 th day of MAY, 2015 at the voting stations listed below: For Ward 1 Electors residing in the Town of Drayton Valley between the hours of 10:00 am and 8:00 pm at: The Max Performing Arts Centre Street, Drayton Valley, Alberta For Ward 1 Electors residing in Brazeau County lying west of the North Saskatchewan River between the hours of 10:00 am and 8:00 pm at the: Violet Grove Community Centre Voter identification will be required - One piece of photo identification with name and address that is issued by a Canadian Government ( Federal, Provincial, local, or any agency thereof, or - identification authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer under the Election Act that establishes the electors name and address Dated at the Town of Rocky Mountain House, in the Province of Alberta, this 9 th day of April, A.D Mohammed Azim, Returning Officer 12