Edmonton Journal

Trustee’s degree pitch handled poorly

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Re. “Catholic board at odds over who should pay trustee’s education bill,” Feb. 16

In her public airing of a concern over her personal profession­al developmen­t, Edmonton Catholic Schools trustee Marilyn Bergstra shows poor judgment on two counts.

First, taxpayer-funded resources for trustee developmen­t are most appropriat­ely used for courses and programs directly related to board governance and subjects clearly supporting the mission of the organizati­on. They should not be used for loosely related career developmen­t of trustees, particular­ly for undertakin­g longer-term degree commitment­s.

In my years serving as a board member and chair of various boards, I have not seen this sort of self-serving rationaliz­ation used to justify board member developmen­t.

Second, it is very inappropri­ate for trustee Bergstra to raise this personal matter in a public forum. This serves no useful purpose and only fuels a narrative of board dysfunctio­n.

The amazing people who contribute to Catholic education in our community, and those who are served by this important organizati­on, deserve better. Terry Harris, Edmonton

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