CBE DISSENT FUELS ACTION
Amid the anger and anxiety over significant changes to school bell times and student busing in Calgary, there’s one positive take-away from the upheaval proposed by the Calgary Board of Education. Parent engagement may be at an all-time high.
Affected families have converged on district open houses, attended a rally at CBE headquarters and swamped trustees and politicians alike with phone calls and letters.
The controversy has also galvanized some into political action. Six people have now stepped forward to run as a slate in this fall’s public school board election, naming themselves the “Students Count” team.
“We share a common vision and we are all committed to take action, and to be accountable to parents’ concerns,” said Lisa Davis, when she and three others announced their candidacy May 25. On Thursday, two more announced their intention to run in October. Students Count now has a candidate in every ward except one.
No matter the outcome, it’s encouraging to see the commitment to education, the willingness to run for a thankless position, even if it’s spurred by dissent.
Students First is a diverse group whose platform includes fixing math, funding classrooms, addressing bullying, changing report cards and eliminating corporate and union donations to trustee campaigns. They have backgrounds ranging from activism and social work to business, marketing and strategy development. All of those skills will be needed if they are elected. The NDP’s newly adopted legislation, Bill 1, which eliminates some school and transportation fees, means difficult funding decisions need to be made at the school board level.
The CBE made one of those decisions by dropping bus service for students at alternative schools, which means students as young as 11 will have to take up to two buses and a CTrain to get to class come September.
Some outraged parents are pinning their hopes on Education Minister David Eggen, who has called for a review of the Calgary Board of Education. Scheduled to be conducted in mid-August, the review will take a comprehensive look at CBE’s financial records on spending, staffing and facility costs. It will also look at transportation fees, service levels, the functionality of the department, ride times and routing.
That review will come too late for parents who had to remove their children from alternative programs they’ve attended for years because the transportation options are untenable for them. But it is an encouraging sign that education issues are spurring citizens to become involved. That can only bode well.