Incumbent Jennifer McKenzie is so far the only person running for the trustee position for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board for the Somerset-Kitchissippi zone. The same is true for the community’s Catholic School Board trustee Thérèse Maloney Cousineau.
And unlike the race for city council which will include more than 100 candidates, there isn’t a rush of candidates seeking positions on OCDSB board of trustees. In fact, in five of the 12 trustee zones it appears as if candidates will win by acclamation.
Only the Rideau-Vanier Capital ward looks like it will be a hotly contested race where five candidates are seeking the trustee position.
The main issue in that ward is the question between a community schools focus, or continuing
to support specialized programs that create hubs of different learning environments for different identified learning groups.
The answer to this question is the Damocles Sword that hangs over congregated learning centres such as the one at Lisgar Collegiate.
Community schooling as a philosophy is currently a guiding principle of the board. It argues that children should be able to access all levels of education within their communities and that different learners benefit from their exposure to each other.
Mckenzie said in an interview that several board-wide alternative program reviews created a very busy last four years.
“These program reviews have had a significant positive impact on Centretown schools, Glashan and Centennial schools have received middle French-immersion programs, and Lisgar maintained its secondary gifted program,” said McKenzie.
In her next term, Mckenzie said, she wants to continue to improve communication and consultation with the community because public schools need strong ties to their community.
An ongoing challenge for the OCDSB is the province’s funding model which divides funding based on average provincial incomes and local incomes.
“The problem is that each year we get less and less money from the province because Ottawa incomes are rising faster than those of the province, however we are still left with a growing annual shortfall,” said McKenzie
McKenzie said that her motivation to seek another term as trustee comes for her deep respect of public schooling.
“I believe that educating our children is one of the most important things we do. It doesn’t justaffect the individual child or their family, but everyone in the community and society at large,”said McKenzie.
The last day to submit nomination papers for candidates is Sept. 10 at 2 p.m.