On Oct. 7, residents here had a chance to hear directly from candidates for the northern Wellington trustee for the Upper Grand District School Board.
Irma De Vries
De Vries spoke on the universal declaration of parent rights which she says gives them a prior right over the education of their children.
She claimed the new equity and inclusion education strategy “is a graphic sex education course.”
She said it was time to vote for traditional family values.
Doris French
French said her 35 years of teaching experience allows her to fully understand timetables and budgeting.
She said various executive positions in a wide variety of organizations stand her in good stead to listen research and help solve problems.
She noted a number of issues ahead including long term accommodation, decreased grants for student needs, junior kindergarten and, transportation.
Tim Meyers
Meyers has a business degress having studied business accounting and law.
He believes he can take that knowledge and translate it to the school board to help bring resources back into the classroom. “We need to be able to educate our kids and to put the money where it will get the best return.”
Bruce Schieck
Schieck is running once again for the trustee position.
He said the main reasons are that if elected, he would be the only trustee with an agricultural background.
“Young people are our most valuable resource, not only here, but in Ontario and the country.
“I have been and will continue to be committee to providing our young people with the best possible educational opportunity while maintaining a rural perspective.”
He added that he has served in this position for the past 18 years.
Questions and answers
Candidates first had to answer questions about the impact of tendering school bus routes, which, while saving some money, has resulted in the loss of local jobs.
Do you favour tendering or not, and why?
Schieck flat out that he did not favour tendering.
He noted that in the past there was tendering, then for a number of years there was not.
He also knows of local operators who have lost routes.
But, Schieck stressed that the tendering process is now mandated by the province.
“We had no option, we had to do it or we would not get additional funding for education.”
Meyers said he both agreed and disagreed with the tendering process.
While he favoured getting competitive pricing, Meyers said the process should be for people who have an investment in the community, not to corporations from other areas.
French did not agree with the current tendering process.
She pointed to the process with which bus owners had to comply with the applications.
“These local companies have lost a lot of business. It is always the small person who is getting shafted.”
De Vries said she supports local business and local bussing companies.
She said local people should have a greater say in what is happening with the bussing and other issues within the schools.
When will there be late bussing for Arthur’s high school students?
“I can’t answer that question because I’m not sitting on the board yet.”
French said she has the same concern for students.
She said the lack of bussing limits participation in any after school team or activity “because they don’t have a ride home unless their parents can get off work and go get them.”
At the same time, she did not know when the problem would be addressed.
Meyers said it is a great local concern, but was uncertain how to respond.
“Right now, I am not on the board, but if the issue is brought to me, I would bring it forward to address it as best I could.”
Schieck said he could not guarantee late bussing for those students “I can guarantee that I have brought it to the table many times. But I am only one voice in a board of 10. I intend to bring it back.”
He noted there were savings when the board went to tender for bus routes and the transportation budget is now balanced.
The board had been running $1 million over budget.
But what they did with the balance was reduce walking distances for students for Guelph and in Orangeville.
They did not address late bussing in northern Wellington, Scheick said.
