Ensure Adequate School Funding, Accountability and Transparency - We entrust over $700 million in public funds and more importantly, our children, to our public schools and we need to know this trust is well placed. The hand-to-mouth funding of schools must end and the provincial funding formula must be fixed.

• Schools are no longer reliant on local tax revenues. Since our schools and educational programs are almost totally dependent on provincial grant revenues, we have to ensure that the education funding formula is adequate and equitable. The board needs to know how much and when provincial grants will be coming so that proper planning and better practices can be implemented. We must find various ways; sometimes subtle and sometimes overt, to ensure that provincial governments are held accountable for the current state of our schools.
• We all have a right to know how our schools are run, should feel free to ask questions when we have concerns, and should have the opportunity for input into decisions made.
• Whenever possible, parents, teachers and principals should be able to make decisions together on issues that affect their local school.
• Fewer board meetings should take place behind closed doors. As your trustee, I have met regularly with parents, teachers, school councils, and members of the media so that I have your valuable input into decision-making and to ensure that you have the information you need to have confidence in our schools. I am always available to address your concerns by email or phone.
• We must improve our data management systems to have a better sense of when schools or students are experiencing difficulties. We must become pro-active in our approach and try to foresee and prevent problems and thereby lessen costs.
• We must ensure that our teachers have access to up-to-date pedagogical methods and tools so as to prevent the need to use more expensive intervention in children who may fall behind. At this time, there are few remedial programs in our schools.
• We must find ways to bring together the community, schools and professional service providers to ensure all children's needs are met.
• With technology and transportation, many things are possible. Students enrolled at one secondary school should be able to spend a semester or so at another if this better meets their needs. The hub model, where each area of the board offers all courses and programs to all secondary students should be improved in the upcoming secondary school review. We need to provide better and more online course delivery.
• Our children deserve to study in schools that are properly maintained with adequate resources for books, music and libraries. We must work smarter with our community partners to ensure that art, music and physical activity are part of our children's school day, at the elementary and secondary levels.