Nominations close on Aug. 19 for the Ontario school board trustee elections, but many school districts are finding themselves short of candidates.
Some trustees and early-childhood educators say a lack of respect for the position and a heated political climate within the province’s school boards are serving as deterrents both to existing trustees seeking re-election and to newcomers considering signing up to run.
The cases of teacher Carolyn Burjoski and trustee Mike Ramsey are two examples.
Burjoski had been an elementary school teacher for over 20 years when she was silenced and barred from speaking to her students in January after expressing concern to the board of trustees that the district’s school libraries contained sexually suggestive books that were potentially harmful for children….