By Kate Heartfield
The candidates for school trustee in central Ottawa say they don’t want the school closure debate to dominate the campaign.
The Ottawa District School Board’s Zone 10, which includes Centretown, has borne the brunt of controversial school closures. It is also the site of one of the hottest races in the municipal election.
Three candidates are running: incumbent Albert Chambers, long-time school council leader Joan Spice, and University of Ottawa student David Allston.
“People are looking for change, for a new perspective,” says Allston, 21, who cheerfully describes himself as “the wild card” in the campaign.
He says he would have run even if school closures had not been an issue.
“It’s probably still our number one issue, but it’s not the only one.”
Chambers admits the school closure issue may have turned some parents against him because he is the incumbent, even though he voted against almost all the closures.
“As a trustee, I’ve had to take care of my whole ward. I hope that I’ve represented them well. I’ve been there when we had to make the tough decisions, and I’ve made them, and I hope that counts.”
Mitchell Beer, a vocal opponent of school closures, says Chambers won’t necessarily be at a disadvantage because he’s an incumbent.
“Albert has been a part of the solution in the closures and has fought valiantly.”
Spice has been a critic of the closures process, but like Chambers and Allston, says she would consider closing some schools if elected. She isn’t worried about going up against an incumbent.
“After watching the trustees for the last three years, I’ve been at as many meetings as they have,” she says. “I’ve been working virtually full time as a volunteer. I wanted to be at the table.”
Experience may be the most important factor on voting day, as the candidates’ platforms differ only in detail.
Spice and Chambers support giving parents more choice about the school their children attend, but Allston says this will only make the “bad schools” worse because only parents who don’t care, or cannot choose otherwise, will send their children there. The schools might get less money from the private sector. He says it would cause some schools to operate over capacity. He supports the current system, which already involves some program choice.
All three trustees argue for more funding for program development. Chambers wants more emphasis on science and technology in the curriculum, and to strengthen Ottawa’s adult high school and vocational programs. He also wants to improve Ottawa’s special education and English as a Second Language programs, as does Allston.
Whether the new batch of trustees has the resources to implement better programs depends largely on provincial funding.
Spice says her most pressing issue is a budget that will allow for reasonable teachers’ salaries and program improvement, while dealing with provincial cuts.
She also has a plan for amending funding formulas to avoid catastrophes like this fall’s school closure debate.
“We have to convince the province there’s no more fat to cut,” she says.