October 15, 2021

Get Out and VOTE!

Monday, October 18 is election day for locally-elected school board trustees and municipal politicians.

Even if you don’t have children in elementary or secondary school, it’s important to do your homework and vote for the public school board trustee who best reflects your values and priorities.

That’s because public school trustees exist to ensure that every child who goes into our public schools comes out prepared to be the future workers, employers, leaders and citizens of our communities.

Over the past year, I’ve written extensively about the importance of locally and democratically elected public school board trustees.

The importance of your locally-elected school board trustee is so significant that it is the Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta’s third Belief Statement: “Public schools are governed by democratically-elected trustees, accountable to communities and to the province.”

Together as a board, school trustees in your jurisdiction decide how best to allocate your community’s share of more than $8.3 billion in yearly provincial funding for K-12 education.

That’s important. We fundamentally believe that your local trustees are best placed to know your community’s education priorities, and where to allocate education dollars to best meet the learning needs of all students. That means ensuring your jurisdiction has properly-trained teachers, support staff, safe and well-maintained schools, reliable student transportation, and learning resources to help students achieve academic success and reach their full potential.

Your locally-elected public school board trustees are also fully committed to the needs of your community and advocate for equal and equitable access to education for all students, regardless of their background, culture, or ability.

Public school board trustees are committed to public schools, support CHOICE within public schools, and promote and protect public schools. Public school board trustees support equity and inclusion and embrace and celebrate diversity. Public school board trustees are open-minded, democratic, and non-partisan. Public school board trustees are principled, ethical, and accountable.

We are so passionate about our role as locally and democratically-elected public school board trustees that we put together a short video to share why it’s so important to get out and VOTE for your local public school board trustee on Monday, October 18! You can watch the video here.

Cathy Hogg
President