HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 1999-05-19, Page 3News
Board looks at cutting number
of delegations at public meetings
By Susan Hundertmark
Expositor Staff
The Avon -Maitland District
School Board is looking at
recommendations to cut the
• number of student trustees
from 10 to two and limit
public delegations to 10 atone
meeting per month: cutting
their presentation time from
10 minutes to five minutes.
The recommendations come
. from,an ad hoc committee that
is attempting to, allowfor
more public input.
The number of delegations
in the past "was a thing that
bothered aim' of us." Trustee
Donald Brillin; cr, one of three
trustees on the ad hoc
committee. told the hoard.
"The are ample
opportunities for the public to
talk to us. like the.telcphone. I
get phone calls and I am aware
of problems but I'm not that
- :slow a learner that I need 12
people to get up and say
exactly the•same -thing for me
. tounerstand. " he said:
. But. trustee Abby Amstrong
said she was opposed "to any
movement to limit delegations
- in any way." .
"We are responsible to the
public and they have a right to
he heard. We don't want to
. make it difficult to hear what
the public has to say. If it takes
two hours. it takes two hours.
As elected officials. we have
• to-takethetime to hearthem."
she said.
At:its May Il 'meeting, the
hoard ' passed "a
recommendation that it -meet
three times a month. instead of
two. for a trial period of three
months l eginning. in October,
limiting delegations to only
the second meeting of the
month.
The first Tuesday of the
month will be used.to,present
a "theme" topic to be
discussed -informally. the
second Tuesday of the. month
• to hear delegations and the
fourth Tuesday of the month
to. make final
decisions:
A motion,
changing the
time limit for
del,egations.
from 10 to five
minutes and
limiting . the
number of.
delegations to
10 will be voted
on at a future
meeting. .
• Armstrong
said that the
m a s t
delegations the
board has seen
in one night was
24, which were
reduced to five
minutes each,
during the heat
of the school
closures issue.
"If we have a
•meeting when
24 people are
that upset to
;give , up their
time to come to our meeting to
speak, then something is
seriously wrong and we need
to know that. The meeting
(with 24 delegations) was one
of the most productive couple
of hours this board has spent."
she said...
Brillinger said that, while he
didn't want to name anyone.
"there are .people who have
-taken 10 minutes to absolutely
waste the time of the hoard
with nonsense.".
Trustee Maggie Lapradc.
also a member of the ad hoc
committee. defended. the
limiting of delegations -saying
that the spirit of the
recommendation was not to
deny anyone the right to he
heard.
"in a democracy. we don't
have to hear from every single
person. Parents can get
together and create a
presentation. No where in any
democratic government do I
ever see presentations made
Quoted
'I'm not that slow a
learner that I need
12 people to get up
and say exactly the
same thing for me to
understand,' --
Trustee Donald
Brillinger
Quoted
'If we have a
meeting when 24
people are that
upset ..then
something is
seriously wrong and
we need to know
that --
Trustee Abby
Armstrong
Student trustees
find some concessions
in board staff meeting
By Susan Hundertmark Just 17 or 18." she saes.
- DetvecChio, say` she'.
Expositor Staff . • hopeful that when all
Student trustees got hallo!' students trustees , are•
what they :wanted at last- regularly consulting with
Friday's meeting between their student councils and
two student trustees. a when the two student trustees
superintendent and the. elected to attend hoard
director of education. said meetings meet regularly with
student Karen Delvecchio. • the group of 10 student
•A new recommendation. trustees from each high
.which willsuggest that each school .in the -district. each
of the 10 student trustees be school's interests and
elected• by . their student concerns will he brought to
councils but that only two •the board table. -
attend hoard Meetings. will She said "it came as such a
.he presented to the Avon
Maitland District School
Board at its May 25 meeting.
• "1 think the board has a
valid point that there are
problems (with the current
system)." said Delvecchio administration. She added
after Friday's.mecting. - the blow was softened by
She said that since some being asked to discuss a .
student trustees are appointed compromise with
by their rincipals and not --administrators. •
elertcd } thcir�siuden�f' --"At least there was the
council. they're not "as - opportunity to. state my
in+ol\cd or likely to embrace view." she said.
the role." - • Superintendent Marjatta
However. she said she's Longston said the changes to -
still not happy that only two the student trustee system
. student ..trustees will be were recommended because
• attending board meetings, ' attendance of student trustees
.even if under the new
system. two will be -
participating in the meeting
instead of the 10 student.
trustees who have attended
the meetings with only one
sitting at the board table at a
time.
• She said that the hoard
chair rarely, if acr, denied
any of the 10 student trustees
the chance to ask a question
or make a point, regardless
of whether or not they .were
sitting at the board table.
"It's really important that
every school community be
represented and when you're
talking about something as
close to home as the school
closures' issue. it's a tough
.job to represent everyone's
interests when you're 40 and
even tougher when you're
shock" that the hoard had
problems with the current
student trustee .• system
because "we hear all the time
how important our role- is
from both trustees and
at board meetings was "not
very good." •
"For the role to be
meaningful and for the
students to value the role.
they need to be elected. That
way. they have the
opportunity to dialogue with
the student body and that
would be far more
meaningful that what's in
place now," she said.
Longston said the eight
student trustees v(ho do not
attend board meetings will
have the opportunity to sit on
other board committees and
all will (earn how the board
operates, how the chain of
command works and how.
decisions are made.
"We think it will expand it
into a much more political
role," she said.
that • are
limitless,"
she said:
Student.
trustee Karen
Delvecchio
countered
that the final
delegation
may have the
'm o s t
important
-thing to say.'
Armstrong
said with
only • 10
delegations
limited to one
meeting a
month,
members of
the public
might not be.
able to he
heard before
a. decision on
an issue is
reached by
the hoard.
"If Iwas a
concerned
parent and I . wanted to he
heard. I'd make sure I had a
standing place in the 10
delegations each. month and
cancel at the last minute if it
turned out i had nothing to
say,- she said.
. Delvecchio also told the
hoard she. was very upset at
the move to reduce the
numhcr of student trustees at..
hoard meetings.
' The recommendation, which:
was referred hack to the ad
hoc committee by the hoard.
would put two.student trustees
at school board meetings at the
table but set up an advisory
board of 20 students. some of
whom would he invited to sit
on various hoard committees.
"The board has grown and 1
think student trustees are the
last chance to have someone
here from every community"
she said.
When Brillinger said a look
at other jurisdictions' showed
"we're really a rarity" with 10
student trustees. Delvecchio
responded -,-"If all the other
hoards jumped off cliffs,
'would we 100?"
Board chair Wendy
Anderson. the third ad hoc
committee member, said the
recommendation was made to
enhance. not diminish the
input of students since it
would provide two student
voices, instead of the one
currently at the board.
. Of the 10 student trustees
that now attend the hoard
meetings. only one sits at the
hoard table at a time.
Anderson added that with a
reduced number of student
trustees. the hoard would he
able to afford to send them to
conferences. something it
can't atli►rd to do for 10.
- Trustees Vicki Culbert and
Colleen • Schenk both
disagreed with reducing the
number of student trustees.
• I'd like to see it remain as it
is: Student trustees arc right at
the school so they know
what's : going on." said
Culbert.
THE HURON EXPOSITOR, May 19, 1999-3
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