Read this boneheaded non-sequitur from the campaign flyer of Toronto public school trustee candidate Nellie Pedro. Then tell me I’m a bad citizen for deciding not to vote in the trustee race:
Having been a provincial Liberal candidate in 2003, I remember my party’s promises including the “Excellence for all” and “Funding Schools for Success” that stated, “We will not let schools fail because of a flawed funding formula. We will create a fair model to reflect the local needs of diverse communities.” However, Toronto’s schools continue to suffer the impact of Conservative cuts to public education that I fought against.
Come again? I guess I can understand a lame attempt to blame Mike Harris coming from one of McGuinty’s 2003 candidates, but why mention McGuinty’s unfulfilled promise to change the Harris government’s per-pupil funding formula?
Pedro’s flyer also has a clever graphic of her name printed onto an old-fashioned school slate. Resting on a corner of the slate is an eraser – a rubber eraser. Okay, maybe Pedro doesn’t know that rubber erasers are for paper, not slates. Or maybe it’s a subliminal message that no matter how many times she runs and loses, we can’t erase her.
Under Pedro’s photo is this grammatically challenged blurb: “I’m looking forward to once again represent the people of Davenport at the TDSB.” Sigh. And I’m looking forward to moving to the 905 in a couple of years.
As I noted in August, the Toronto public board has never addressed its bloated cost structure (which was exposed in detail in auditor Al Rosen’s 2002 report), not even in its most recent budget “crisis” when it was looking at an $84-million deficit.
Unfortunately, Pedro is no worse than the other trustee candidates in my ward. All are running on similar Beer-and-Skittles platforms, promising to defend Toronto’s existing unfunded programs, and bring in even more.
3 comments:
You want to move to 905? Where? Brampton? Are you Sikh? Mississauga? Are you Hindu? Better change your ethnicity lest you find your opinions even more worthless than you previously believed.
The TDSB is a laugh, or would be a laugh, if they weren't so pathetic. A trustee running who can't even put a sentence together?
In a nutshell, that's what's wrong with education all over the province. The people running the show are second-rate opportunists.
The really fine teachers, with high standards, are being shafted (TDSB: "You can't expect so many challenged and at-risk students to do THIS work and you absolutely can't TALK to students that way...") and the students' genuine needs are not being met.
It's all about salaries and perks for the trustees, the admin, and the teachers.
A pox on them all--except for the teachers with high standards and their students.
It's likely that Pedro didn't know the difference between an eraser and a rubber stamp....although she should.
Isn't she the same trustee who a few years ago got her shorts in a knot about Don Cherry being a bad role model for kids?
The one thing the Rozanski report did say was that having the money follow the student was sound policy. People forget that. Leave it to some trustees who sometimes give us the feeling that it's all about them...the heck with students.
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