‘The stakes couldn’t be higher’: Former Edmonton school board chair on upcoming election

Edmontonians should pay attention to the upcoming school trustee races as the decisions made over the next four years will have far-reaching consequences.

Edmonton’s election day is Oct. 20, which means residents will vote in a new mayor and their city councillors – but they’ll also have the chance to vote for their school board trustees.

Edmonton’s public and Catholic school boards vote on new division representation the same day. Trisha Estabrooks, a former Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) chair, said whether a parent or not, everyone should be paying attention to school board elections.

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“It may not seem as high profile, but certainly the stakes are high when we think about our children’s education,” Estabrooks said in an interview Wednesday.

“This is our future generation of Albertans who will staff our hospitals, work in our schools, and take care of us when we get older.”

The mayoral race has taken much of the headlines, she said, and city council races are hotly contested despite lower voting day turnouts, but she argued there were “critical and big issues facing school boards right now.”

“We hear constantly about the need for new schools in this city, and we’re on the brink of potentially a teacher strike. We’re hearing the autonomy of school boards has been stripped,” she added.

“There are a multitude of issues that impact school board trustees and people should be paying attention at this time, absolutely.”

EPSB recently became the impetus for a revised ministerial order amid the provincial government’s efforts to crack down on sexually explicit images in school libraries.

The latest news on negotiations between the Alberta Teachers’ Association and Alberta government was that both parties were far from reaching an agreement before a strike date of Oct. 6.

The province took the teachers’ union to the labour board on Monday over accusations of false claims.

“In this election cycle for school board trustees, the stakes couldn’t be higher … If a school board trustee comes and knocks on your door, engage them in a conversation. Ask them some tough questions,” Estabrooks advised.

“How are you going to stand up for kids in our public school system?”

‘Do your research’

Currently, Ward D and F trustee Julie Kusiek sits as the chair of the EPSB, which has nine wards, A through I.

As election day approaches, campaign signs for trustee hopefuls are strewn around the city – not all of them are recognizable names.

“Any trustee candidate that is serious about seeking this office … will have a website,” Estabrooks said. She suggested visiting websites, reaching out, sending them an email or finding them on social media.

“So do your research, get to know the candidates running in your area, and absolutely make sure you get out and vote on election day.”

Nominations for trustee positions close Sept. 22. Estabrooks said to carefully consider who you want on a board that will oversee just over a billion dollars in funding.

Ward papastew Coun. Michael Janz said school boards at the forefront of pivotal conversations about what schools should look like have the opportunity to instill change outside of billion-dollar decisions.

Janz was elected as an EPSB trustee in 2010, 2013 and became chair of the board in 2017. He said he first came in during a time of discussion around sexual orientation and gender identity policies.

“The school trustee is a really important position in our democracy. You’re seeing it right now with many of the culture wars across the U.S. and in North America. School boards have become a focal point,” he told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday.

He added that amid a potential teachers’ strike, questions of what school spaces should look like, enrolment numbers and potentially building more schools are going to be hot topics.

“Some of the most rewarding parts are that you feel a tangible way to support and deal with schools in your community,” he said.

Janz also noted the recent shift toward social conservatism.

“The extreme right sees this as fertile ground for organizing … I’m going to be looking for a school trustee who’s going to be willing to stand up to that kind of pressure.”

The power of school boards, he argued, has diminished in recent years as power shifts to the province and decisions have become centralized to the minister of education and childcare.

“I think the fundamental belief around school boards is that the community should be making democratic decisions about how their schools are operating, who they’re serving, and the school trustee is that community service.”

Ward maps and a list of current school board trustees can be found on the City of Edmonton’s website.

While there wasn’t a comprehensive list of trustee candidates as of Wednesday, Edmontonians will be seeing campaign signs in their wards and can look up those names. Some wards have Facebook groups dedicated to forums about potential candidates.

“You want to elect smart people,” Estabrooks said. “You want to elect people who give a damn.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg