School Board Trustee Candidates
York Catholic District School Board
- Ensure that parents and students are informed and engaged as we transition to a JK-6 elementary school structure in Stouffville and a 7-12 high school model
- Advocate for a late-start time for St. Katharine Drexel CHS as well as an Advanced Placement program and several Specialist High Skills Majors
- Advocate for field refurbishment at St. Brendan CES and repaving of the play area at St. Brigid CES
- Lobby YRT for school specials for the new high school, improve school traffic safety, and lobby for more special education and transportation funding
- Develop improves school-parish relationships
Bullet Point News has contacted Al Itwar multiple times but has not received any response. We invite Al Itwar to provide information on his platform.
York Region District School Board
- Ensure effective school district leadership and governance
- Provide leadership to make sure schools are safe places for students to learn, grow, and develop
- Promote academic excellence with a focus on meeting the academic and social needs of students, including students with special needs
- Create a safe, inclusive schooling environment
- Inspire public confidence and trust in the YRDSB through community relations
- Stand for Students First and engage with parents to discover what’s important to them
- Ensure educational transparency to preserve the parents’ right to know what’s being taught and the environment it’s taught in
- Empower parents to speak up if they have any issues with the school environment
- Prioritize student’s learning recovery and socialization adjustment after COVID restriction isolation
- Measure the politicization of the school environment to keep school as a “neutral educator”
- Invest more in mental health programs.
- Fund proposals for special needs programs and services
- Emphasize financial literacy, computer skills, and technological advances in our curriculum
- Ensure quality education focused on global competencies
- Promote equity, diversity, and inclusion as integral values of our education system and essential building blocks of our society.
- Ensure schools are places where children are challenged to learn and taught how to think
- Develop strategies to help students recover from missed learning opportunities due to distance learning challenges that took place during the pandemic
- Re-examine ideologies that have shaped policies and influenced curriculum that is harmful to kids, destructive to families, creating division between groups of people, destroying relationships, and putting an unnecessary burden on teachers
- Address teacher concerns about the increase in violence and rude behaviour in the classroom
- Keep parents and constituents aware of what is going on at the board level and allow them to provide input about policies and procedures
- Will volunteer for Budget Chair to help balance the budget (YRDSB will have a structural deficit for the foreseeable future)
- Advocate for better funding from the province
- Review staff dress code parameters
- Continue to work on the Multi-Year Strategic Plan and serve on a variety of committees
- Will volunteer for OPSBA to help at the provincial level
- Continue to build a strong school community through open communication and leadership
- Examine the lack of funding at schools which is affecting student achievement and well-being
- Build strong relationships with other trustees to increase funding for schools
- Promote inclusive environments
- Remove mandatory online learning as this can have a negative effect on students
Conseil Scolaire Viamonde (French public)
Bullet Point News has tried contacting Nicolas Bigaignon multiple times without success. We invite Nicolas Bigaignon to provide information on his platform.
Bullet Point News has tried contacting Hanane Jaouich multiple times without success. We invite Hanane Jaouich to provide information on her platform.
Stefania Sigurdson Forbes
Bullet Point News contacted Stefania Sigurdson Forbes multiple times but has not received any response. We invite Stefania Sigurdson Forbes to provide information on her platform.
Conseil Scolaire Catholique MonAvenir (French separate)
Donald Blais (acclaimed)
Bullet Point News has tried contacting Donald Blais multiple times without success. We invite Donald Blais to provide information on his platform.
Councillor Candidates | Ward 1
Bullet Point News has contacted Michael Cleverdon multiple times without success. We invite Michael Cleverdon to provide information on his platform.
Bullet Point News has contacted Juliette Deonarain multiple times without success. We invite Juliette Deonarain to provide information on her platform.
Bullet Point News has contacted Hugo Kroon multiple times without success. We invite Hugo Kroon to provide information on his platform.
Councillor Candidates | Ward 2
- Responsible stewardship of the Ward’s finances
- Create safer roads and communities with less crime
- Increase town services for Ward 2, such as fire services
- Curb irresponsible development to protect the Greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine
- Remain accessible to constituents
Bullet Point News has contacted Maurice Smith multiple times without success. We invite Maurice Smith to provide information on his platform.
Councillor Candidates | Ward 3
Bullet Point News has contacted Keith Acton multiple times without success. We invite Keith Acton to provide information on his platform.
Councillor Candidates | Ward 4
Bullet Point News has contacted Keith Singer multiple times without success. We invite Keith Singer to provide information on his platform.
- We are waiting for Brad Valentini to complete our questionnaire.
- Reduce future property tax and rate increases
- Ensure appropriate urban planning and zoning processes are followed and resist development projects on the Greenbelt
- Push for more affordable, accessible housing for individuals and families in need
- Promote council accountability, ensure transparency, and regularly engage with Ward 4 constituents
- Collaborate with residents and York Regional Police to create a safer community
Councillor Candidates | Ward 5
Bullet Point News has contacted Richard Bartley multiple times without success. We invite Richard Bartley to provide information on his platform.
- Develop a streamlined and transparent plan and strategy for sustained and responsible growth
- Ensure that the new builders coming to town provide adequate funding for parkland
- Retain natural features such as ponds and forests
- Improve our recreational facilities
- Ensure newcomers and marginalized residents can access the resources and services they need
Councillor Candidates | Ward 6
Bullet Point News has contacted Angel Freedman multiple times without success. We invite Angel Freedman to provide information on her platform.
Bullet Point News has contacted Rob Hargrave multiple times without success. We invite Rob Hargrave to provide information on his platform.
- Improve neighbourhood road safety with speed cameras, pedestrian crosswalks, and radar speed signs
- Controlled development through affordable housing, protecting heritage homes, and preventing development on protected lands
- Improved environmental stewardship by protecting the Greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine, increasing the tree planting budget, and adopting green technology
- Attract new investments
- Create good paying local jobs to offset residential tax rates and investing in a vibrant Main Street
- Focus on addressing rapid residential growth
- Increase funding for youth recreational facilities
- Construct a volunteer-run greenhouse to support the local food bank
- Improve services for the elderly
- Attract industry and business to grow the commercial tax base
- Protect the Greenbelt and Oak Ridges from the current council’s Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZO)
- Ensure connectivity, broadband, and high-speed internet for various areas of town where accessibility remains an issue
- Create more access to recreation and initiate a joint venture entertainment facility for all ages
- Review the Town’s land sale and acquisition practices
- Improve local transportation to serve all residents
- Prioritize affordable housing, strategic urban planning, and better access to public transit
- Job creation
- Clean industry development, environmental protection, and local policies that help mitigate climate change
- Development of the Main Street corridor, protection of heritage distracts, and traffic calming to improve safety
- Increase emergency services to keep up pace with growth
- Diversification of the tax base combined with sustainable growth
- Bring order and efficiency to the position of mayor and council
- Increase the safety, wealth, and prosperity for all in Whitchurch-Stouffville
- Attract larger and more diverse businesses to Stouffville in the
- areas of medical, education, and technology
- Create a Town Economic Strategy Committee to look at 2 – 4-year plans
- for economic growth strategies