One says yes, the other says no, for good reason.
Pam Currie and Janet Foord, the two trustees representing Estevan at the South East Cornerstone Public School Division table have made up their minds as to what route they are taking when the next civic election campaign begins with election day slated for October.
“I will be running again,” said Currie, a veteran member of the board, who had also served the public school division as an elected representative prior to school division amalgamation over 11 years ago. She was re-elected by acclamation in the previous school board election.
Foord, on the other hand, is wrapping up a fruitful career in school governance by completing her term as president of the Canadian School Board Association in July as well as being the other Estevan representative on the 10-member board.
In fact, Foord spoke with the Mercury from Wolfville, Nova Scotia, where she was attending that province’s annual school board association’s meeting last week.
“I’m getting married later this year and Don and I will be living in Melfort for the next few years,” she said, commenting on her upcoming plans.
The retirement from the local board will conclude a volunteer career in school board governance that has spanned more than 28 years, beginning with her election to the Estevan Rural School Division’s board of trustees, which later took her to the city’s school board table and then to the regional role.
She hasn’t stopped there though. She also was elected president of the Saskatchewan School Board Association a couple of years ago after serving as the association’s vice-president. She retired from that presidential position as she was being inducted as the president on the national level.
“But I will be retiring from this job, too, when we hold our national conference in Winnipeg, next month,” she said.
“I have certainly gained new perspectives on education, and I see that on the national scale we have more similarities than differences, which is a good thing.”
When asked to comment on impending changes to the way school divisions are going to be operated in Saskatchewan, within the next year or two, Foord said that on the education administration front, “change is always inevitable.” She went on to say she was pleased to hear Premier Brad Wall state that changes would only be coming after consultation with the school boards and the public.
“We’re dealing with a lot of rumours right now, but I’m staying optimistic. Tough economic times lead to tough decisions. I have seen how others have dealt with similar circumstances and I’m happy to see that when the necessary changes were made, they have not adversely affected the students in the schools.”
Foord added she hoped the provincial government and, especially, the Ministry of Education would not proceed with major changes without first consulting extensively with school boards. “We have a lot of experience within our provincial trustee lineups, so I just hope the ministry will use them and listen to them. From what I hear, the process will be getting underway quickly if they want to make a difference in the next budget. I, like a lot of people, don’t always like change, but if it’s going to happen, they need to consult local trustees and I still believe in grassroots being the best route,” she said. “I hope there will still be local representation, and that means locally elected representation, that’s the only way you get the true voice and the only way you can be held accountable in the local communities, is by being elected, being appointed doesn’t.”
Foord said she will probably stay active on the volunteer front once she moves to Melfort, otherwise she might miss being involved in local community affairs.
“Being an education trustee is a pretty selfless job, but it has its own rewards as well as heartbreaks. But, kids get an education in spite of what goes on in the political world,” she said with a laugh. “I just hope people stay interested in elected school division business. It may not be romantic, but it’s very rewarding.”
Trustees from nearby public school subdivisions who sit at the Cornerstone table, are also split on their intentions to seek re-election.
Shirley Wheeler, who was elected by acclamation in a Subdivision 3 byelection following the untimely death of former trustee Garry Hammet, said she will not be seeking re-election this fall.
Kevin Keating, who now resides in Estevan, said he is still interested and will be seeking a seat at the Cornerstone table. He is currently serving as the Subdivision 4 representative. He will be looking at his three potential options before making his intentions known later this summer. Keating’s options include a re-run for the Sub-division 4 seat, or a run at Wheeler’s vacated seat for Subdivision 3 (Bienfait and area) or taking a look at the possibility of claiming the seat being vacated by Foord as a City of Estevan representative.
