There’s more to voting at the upcoming municipal elections than picking a mayor and 23 city councillors. On Monday, it will also be time to elect school board trustees.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has five candidates in the running for Zone 10, which encompasses Somerset and Kitchissippi wards.
Incumbent Jennifer McKenzie, who also chaired the school board for the last four years, isn’t seeking re-election.
“We’ve done a huge amount of work to transform the school board from a low-performing dysfunctional board to a high-performing school board,” McKenzie says.
But she adds it’s frustrating to work with the province, which has been stymieing change.
McKenzie says there are a few ongoing projects she hopes the new board will tackle.
And although she says the upcoming trustee election is not about a specific issue, child poverty is a growing problem in Ottawa.
She says there needs to be a focus on ensuring there are equitable services across schools that meet the needs of every family, particularly low-income families.
“We’re taking over child care to a large degree in the city,” she says. But with the cost hovering around $20 a day, McKenzie says low-income families, the group that most need affordable daycare, are being shut out.
“We still have a lot of low income children coming to school and I think the problem is getting worse, not better, from what we see on the ground,” McKenzie says.
Apart from ensuring fair access to services, McKenzie says Zone 10 is doing well.
“The schools are full, the programs are good, and the parents are happy,” she says.
McKenzie says she wants to see a trustee that will be a champion for the less fortunate.
“I think what you want in a trustee is someone who will make sure that all children have access to quality programs that are in our schools,” McKenzie says, noting that she’s endorsed candidate Erica Braunovan.
People in Somerset Ward are asking for early French immersion programs and a rebuild of the Elgin Street public school, Braunovan says.
But although inner city schools may be in need of repairs or rebuilds, similar to what Broadview Public School is undergoing, there’s more to an education than bricks and mortar, Braunovan says.
“I think the schools in the downtown area attract high-quality instructors,” she says.
With two children of her own in a downtown school, Braunovan says she’s “very impressed” by the quality of education they are getting.
Guy Hughes, also a candidate for Zone 10, says while canvassing he’s heard people asking for infrastructure investment downtown.
“I heard from residents in the golden triangle that there is crowding at Lisgar,” he says, referring to Lisgar Collegiate Institute. “Residents are saying there’s a need for a new high school.”
Hughes says he would also focus on anti-bullying work and implement a review of the programs offered by the schools to ensure they’re offering the right services.