What Does a School Trustee Actually Do?

One of the questions I have heard during this campaign is a very reasonable one:

What exactly does a school trustee do?

It’s a good question.

School trustees are elected representatives of their communities on the school board. They are responsible for helping set the direction and policies of the board and for making decisions on behalf of the students, families and communities they represent.

Trustees don’t run individual schools.

They aren’t the principal, they aren’t the superintendent and they aren’t the teacher in your child’s classroom.

But they do have an important role in making sure the voices of their communities are represented at the board table.

That means listening.

Listening to students. Listening to parents. Listening to educators. Listening to the community.

It also means understanding the issues facing the school board and asking questions about how decisions will affect students.

A trustee has to look at the bigger picture.

There are thousands of students across York Region, and decisions have to consider the needs of many different communities. That can sometimes mean there isn’t a simple answer.

I believe a good trustee should be willing to ask difficult questions, look at the information, listen to different perspectives and make decisions with students at the centre.

For me, being a trustee isn’t about having all the answers.

It’s about being willing to listen, learn and advocate.

As a parent who has had four children go through York Region public schools, I have experienced our education system from a parent’s perspective. Now I want to bring that experience to the board table and represent Newmarket families.

I also believe accessibility matters.

If elected, I want families to feel that they can reach out to me with their questions, concerns and ideas.

I won’t be able to solve every problem personally, and I won’t pretend that I can.

But I can listen.

I can ask questions.

I can bring concerns forward.

And I can make sure Newmarket has a voice at the table.

That’s what I believe the role of trustee should be about.