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Why School Trustee?
I have had the opportunity with my work to travel
and live in many places around the world. Through that travel I have
been exposed to many different public and private solutions in
education. I feel very strong and passionate from those experiences
that we all must fight to preserve our first class Public Education
system not just that it survives but flourish for the sake of our
children and the country. So 3 years ago, I decided that I must put
action to my words and took 66% of the vote to be elected the
Trustee for Ward 8. I wish to continue my role as Trustee and look
forward to you support to achieve that goal.
Make Kids First
As a School Trustee and father, I feel strongly
to "Make Kids First".
In all that I do, I put our children at the focal
point to ensure that decisions are taken to promote their
better education. To guarantee students in the Peel School
system will flourish within the financial constraints imposed by the
Provincial Government, a strong focus on "Making Kids First"
is my mandate.
Demand same Provincial
Funding as other School Boards
Each student in Peel is under funded by $800 compared to the
Provincial average and lets not compare ourselves to Toronto which
gets $1,150 more per student. This translates to an annual shortfall of $170
Million, which has made our students second class citizens in
the Province and our next door neighbor. I have been a strong advocate as School Trustee and
will continue to demand the same provincial
funding that other School Boards receive.
What does this under funding translate to?
- Long wait times to have our children's needs
assessed
- Not enough computers in the classroom
- Out-of-date computers
- Insufficient textbooks and teaching tools
- Fundraising required to meet library and classroom needs
- Inadequate maintenance levels on our older schools
Demand fair Special Education funding
The Peel School Board is the lowest funded board when it comes to
Special Education. Our High Needs Funding is the absolute lowest of
all boards at $300 dollars where the average is at $600 dollars per
student. Being a member of the Special Education Advisory Committee,
I work hard to help our children in most need and advocate for the
fair funding they deserve.
Make our schools safe for learning
I will continue the mandate to make our schools safe for
learning. I want parents to be confident that their children are
protected. See School Safety in
Accomplishment Section
for details of my work!
Push forward renovation to our aging Schools
Peel has undertaken a renewal program with a budget of $100
Million for our aging schools. The schools in Ward 8 have an average
age of 20-years.
I will continue to advocate on behalf of our schools for
equitable renewal funding. This renewal applies to repairs as well
as upgrading the latest energy saving technologies. I will also
continue to demand from the Provincial Government our fair share of
funding for school renovation.
Reduce class sizes
I will continue my great progress of reducing class sizes from
24.5 in 2003 to 20.5 students as of 2006. This is on track for 20
students for 2007.
Improve our EQAO scores
I will continue to improve on the great progress made over the
last 3 years for EQAO Provincial Testing. Our Ward 8 is
leading the way to excellence for the Peel School Board through
innovative and passionate educators. Refer to the
EQAO Section for details of our exceptional performance.
Continue to reduce
the portables in our schools
I have removed 5 of the 15 portables from Ward 8 Schools. My
goals is to remove all remaining portables.
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