Before the Ballot- School Trustee Edition with Joanne Belanger, Candidate for Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board Trustee – Ward 6.

Enjoy this instalment of Before the Ballot- School Trustee Edition with Joanne Belanger, Candidate for Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board Trustee – Ward 6.

Please tell our readers a little about yourself and what motivated you to seek election as a School Board Trustee.

I moved to Hamilton on April 23rd of this year, from Belleville, Ontario where I was a trustee on the Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board. I am a widow and six of my seven children live in the Hamilton area as do nine of my grandchildren.

I retired in 2020 having spent the last 14 years of my working life as the Chaplaincy Leader of my alma mater, Nicholson Catholic College, in Belleville, Ontario. I was president of my Catholic Women’s League Council, past Chair of the Kingston Archdiocesan Council of Development & Peace – Caritas Canada, and past Chair of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Belleville. I currently am a parishioner of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Hamilton.

I have always been active in politics and firmly believe that it is important to be an engaged citizen. Having enjoyed my time as a trustee, I decided to run in Hamilton as I think it is important, more now than ever, to have local representation on our school boards.

In your view, what are the three most important issues currently facing students, parents, educators, and the school board, and how would you help address them?

I think that the three most important issues facing the education community are 1) centralization of decision making at Queen’s Park thus ignoring the voices of the local experts (students, parents, educators, board staff and trustees) who know their community and what is needed to serve our students well, 2) the consistent erosion of education funding across Ontario in order to set boards up to fail, laying the blame at the feet of the trustees, and 3) the lack of a consistent, well thought out and proven plan to address the increasing level of violence in our school communities. Students should feel safe at school, staff should feel safe at work and administration and board staff should have the tools required to work with students, staff and parents to reduce violent incidents in our schools, school yards, buses and even out in the community. My goal would be to continually advocate for decision making at a local level, better funding to meet the needs of our students and implementation of best practice strategies to reduce violence in our school communities.

A trustee's role is one of governance rather than day-to-day management. How do you see the relationship between trustees, board administration, and school principals?

Trustees should develop a strong working relationship with the Director (CEO?) of the Board and through committee work, with the Senior Team. It is important to know the local principals but a respectful relationship is one wherein the trustee funnels information, requests etc. through the Director (CEO?). As a trustee in Eastern Ontario, I felt that I had a very strong and positive relationship with the Director and a collegial relationship with the Senior Team and a very respectful and positive relationship with school administration.

What changes or improvements, if any, would you like to see in the delivery of education within our local school system over the next four years?

I would like to see funding restored to reasonable levels especially in the area of Special Needs, Mental Health supports and in the areas of STEM, AI and the Arts, I would love to see more opportunities for students to have a voice in exploring these areas and in contributing to policy especially in the area of AI.

Why should voters place their trust in you? What qualities, experience, or perspective would you bring to the role of School Board Trustee that distinguish you from the other candidates?

I was a trustee in the 90’s, just prior to amalgamation and I was a trustee during this most recent term until I moved to Hamilton for family/personal reasons. I have varied experience - I have lots of leadership experience as outlined in question 1, and I also have worked in the system as a Chaplaincy Leader. I have seven adult children who attended the Catholic system in eastern Ontario so I have a strong parent perspective as well. I spent 26 years as an Individual, Family and Marriage counsellor before I was a Chaplaincy Leader and I think that I am a very good listener and an excellent communicator.

What would you like parents, students and the broader public to know about the role of a Trustee?

I think that a good Trustee is first and foremost, a good advocate for students and parents. I see the role as one of being a conduit between families and school board staff via the Director (CEO?). I think that there is a place for trustees to help inform families about what is happening between the Ministry and the Board so that they know how decision making is impacting their Board and the schools.

How can voters contact you and/or learn more about you?

My email address is joannek.belanger@gmail.com.

I would also like to state that I will be running a “sign-less” campaign. I have worked on many campaigns at a local, provincial and federal level. My husband was, before he passed away, a member of council for 25 years so we ran many campaigns. I find campaign signs are not environmentally friendly, and they are expensive and they look ‘cluttered’ in our neighbourhoods. Hence I am a sign-less candidate!

Thank-you Joanne for engaging with Hamiltonians on The Hamiltonian!