SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT

Who Will Guard the Guardians?

Further to yesterday’s posting, this article from the Waterloo Region Record reports that the local teachers’ unions have been allowed to use the public board’s courier system to inform some 2000 teachers about recommended school trustee candidates. Although a spokesman for the board said this happened “inadvertently”, the unions say it’s been going on for years. Over at the Catholic school board, the teachers’ union is permitted to place their recommendations in teachers’ mailboxes at individual schools - a privilege unlikely to be extended to other groups. 

Because the average voter is hard-pressed to be well informed about all of the electoral races and issues - mayor, local councillor, regional councillor, referenda, school board trustees - many teachers gratefully accept their union’s recommendations and vote the party line. While lots of people mark their ballot only for mayor and maybe councillor, leaving the school trustee part at the bottom of the ballot blank, most teachers do get all the way down the page and vote for the trustees too. And of course, many retired educators run for office, increasing the chances that their former colleagues will make the effort to vote for them: this is reflected in the fact that a higher percentage of teachers vote in elections than most other occupations. All in all, it’s safe to say that education providers are well represented at the polls. 

Media Advisory:  If you are in the Kitchener-Waterloo listening area, Doretta Wilson is going to be on Gary Doyle’s 570AM News show at noon today or listen over the web at www.570news.com/listen