Number of trustee candidates soar following troubled term of York board

York Region District School Board candidates registered due to issues with finances, racism, leadership

YorkRegion.com
October 11, 2018
Teresa Latchford

Advocating for her own children is what sparked Salwa Steitieh to run for school board trustee.

The first-time candidate for York Region District School Board Richmond Hill wards 3, 5 and 6 trustee has one child with an exceptionality, which requires her advocacy and involvement with the supports offered by the school.

This includes interacting with the principal, administrators, teachers and special education teacher to complete an individual education plan her child requires to succeed.

“My other child is within the French immersion stream and it too comes with challenges and obstacles that require my advocacy and involvement,” she said.

“I understand what parents are experiencing and I understand that there are sometimes obstacles to overcome when navigating the entire system.”

Steitieh's goal is to share her passion, not only for her children’s education and well-being, but for all students across York Region by bringing her experiences to the table.

Steitieh is not alone. Many first-time trustee candidates have thrown their names into the hat this election.

In fact, both York Region and York Catholic district school boards have seen a large increase in the number of trustee candidates compared to the previous election. In 2014, there were 42 trustee candidates vying for a seat with the public board and 18 hopefuls for the Catholic board. This election, there are 66 candidates for the public board and 32 candidates for the Catholic board.

York University Prof. Dennis Pilon admits the uptick in trustee candidates is curious.

“The school board is the loneliest place to be in politics,” he said. “It is the same amount of work a municipal council candidate would put in and the payoff isn’t nearly as good.”

Running for school trustee is a tough road as the general public struggles to follow what is happening with their local level of government, never mind at the school board level, he added.

Some candidates will use the trustee position as a stepping-stone to get into municipal politics, while others will simply serve their time while their children are involved in the system, then take a step back to let someone else have a turn.

“It is entirely possible that the heightened discussion surrounding the sexual education curriculum has caused more people to feel the need to have a say at the school board table,” Pilon said. “Issues tend to draw in concerned parents.”

School board politics are never really in the spotlight like federal and provincial politics. People hear about high level politics every day, but since people rarely hear about the goings-on of school boards, it seems very significant when something like fiscal irresponsibility or improper procedure comes into the public eye.

“Because the local level isn’t well known, there could be a complete upheaval and more people might step up to encourage change,” Pilon said.

In the case of the York public board, it is very reasonable to connect the dots between more candidates running following the questioning of fiscal responsibility, how human rights complaints are dealt with and the provincial education ministry stepping in to set direction for the board.

Charline Grant, YRDSB trustee candidate for Vaughan wards 1 and 2, registered as a candidate because she believes it is time for a change of leadership at the board. She believes the increase in candidates is directly related to parents witnessing a number of issues, including inappropriate expenditures and the failure to properly address human rights issues.

“In my opinion, parents in the region saw and heard about the mess within the board and are simply not happy,” she said. “They want change.”

Grant was dissatisfied with the way her son’s school and the board dealt with a complaint about a racial comment from a teacher. She filed a human rights complaint, along with seven other families, against the public board.

The complaints sparked an Ministry of Education review, resulting in the laying out of 22 directions the school board has to complete.

“With all of the communication I have had with other parents and members of the board, there has been no significant change,” Grant said. “The only change has been the director, and I cannot risk having the same people who created and contributed to the problem remaining in the same roles.”

Markham wards 4 and 5 public trustee candidate Rukshan Para referred to the trustees' questionable expenses on a trip to Finland that was highlighted in the media and lack of public consultation before making decisions.
“Trustees have a responsibility to speak up, and that’s what I want to do,” he said. “I feel like I could do a better job.”