Taking Public Education to the Doorsteps

“No one has ever come to my door before running for school board.”

That’s the comment I’ve heard more often than any other after knocking on hundreds of doors since the beginning of July.

Since making the decision to run for Public School Board Trustee, it never occurred to me to not aggressively pursue the position. I’m doing this because I care passionately about the public school system in Edmonton. It’s important. Public Education is the cornerstone of a civil society and its schools are the heart of communities.

At the panel discussion I recently attended, we were reminded that there are four levels of government: federal, provincial, municipal, and school board. I’ve wanted to do this for 20 years because public school governance is important to me. It is a political position. Elected trustees represent the community that elected them, and that community has a democratic right to expect representation and to hold their trustee to account. It’s democracy at its best – at the grassroots level.

In this year’s municipal election I’ve gotten to know a number of other trustee candidates and am very happy to report that the majority of them share my passion for education and for democracy. The majority, like me, have been knocking on doors all summer and talking and listening to the communities they hope to represent. And it’s been noted by more than one person that in some wards there are more trustee candidate signs than signs for Councilor positions.

I hope this is the last year candidates will hear the above comment. I hope that door knocking and active campaigning become a normal part of campaigning for public and catholic school trustee candidates.

See you on the doorsteps!

- Tina.

Introducing Tina Jardine for Ward I

Who am I, and why am I running for Public School Board anyway?

Well for starters, I am both a parent and a grandparent, whose children went through Edmonton Public Schools from Grades 1-12, and whose grandchildren are now or will be attending Edmonton Public Schools very soon.

I moved to Edmonton in 1973, from the small farming community of Drayton in southwestern Ontario, where approximately 1200 people make their homes.

I worked in the Edmonton Public School system for many years, both in administration and as an Administrative Assistant, where I spent time primarily in the programming and curriculum departments. I was very involved in my workplace, and with my colleagues among the Edmonton Public support staff. I served as both President and Vice-President of Local 3550 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, before changing direction to become a legal assistant ten years ago. I now work with a downtown law firm.

Community work and volunteerism are lifelong passions for me. I've volunteered with hundreds of amazing people for almost a decade at the Edmonton Folk Festival, and with the Capital Region's United Way. I also served a very short one year (2008-2009) portion of a 3-year term on the Edmonton West-Central Community Health Council (before the councils were dismantled by the Health Minister in 2009).

I'm running because I know that strong public schools are the pillars of healthy communities, and I don't feel that we're doing as well as we could be on either front.

You see, trustees have the ability and responsibility to press the provincial government for proper funding for all classrooms, proper resources for special needs children, and all educational and school necessities.

It is unacceptable for parents to have to fundraise for basic school equipment, and maintenance funding should be based on physical building needs, not doled out piecemeal on a per pupil basis. Older schools need upgrading: electrical, plumbing, heating. We cannot wait until our buildings become so decrepit that they are finally included in a capital plan. We need to fix them now.

Trustees also have a responsibility to listen, to address the concerns of their constituents and not just become another arm of administration. Too often, school board trustees view themselves as part of the system - rather than working to ensure that the system is accountable to the public!

Rather than close schools to meet punitive utilization rates, we need to think differently using a community school model. We need creative ideas to keep schools open in communities and used year-round. We need to work with the City of Edmonton to help revitalization efforts in older neighbourhoods, and not be counter-productive by closing community schools.

It's my goal to be a strong and sincere advocate for the needs of children and the expectations of parents, and create the best working environment possible for all Edmonton Public School Board staff. I'm a veteran member of that staff who knows the system, and how we can change it for the better.

Finally, I want readers to know that I am a parent and grandparent with a vested interest in making Edmonton’s public schools the best schools they can be.

So enjoy this little blog and website, and please contact me if you'd like to know more!

- Tina.

587.784.5220
votetinajardine@gmail.com