SCDSB TRUSTEES’ QUESTIONNAIRE
FOR THE UPCOMING MUNICIPAL ELECTION
PERSONAL INFORMATION
NAME: Suzanne Ley
EMAIL ADDRESS: suzanneley2014@hotmail.com
TELEPHONE NUMBER: 705-321-7880
WARD(s): Barrie 1, 2, 3
When filling in the questionnaire, please explain your answers in some detail. Likewise, if
answering a question with a “yes” or “no” please clarify your response. If you require more
space to provide a complete answer, please attach an extra page to the questionnaire.
1. Why do/did you want to become a school board trustee? What experience do you
bring to the role? How will you balance the time and effort you devote to being a trustee
with other commitments you may have? Please see below
My desire to become a Trustee is based on my belief that a strong public education system is
critical for the future of this province and our country. When I applied for an appointment in
the spring of 2010, I felt it was important that whoever filled the position was doing so to make
decisions based upon student need and not for the purpose of furthering his or her political
career. After four-and-a-half years as a Trustee, I continue to base my decisions upon what is
best for the students. I have a much better understanding of our education system now and
feel that I can be more effective in my role in the future.
My employment experience includes working as a Bell Canada operator for approximately five
years when I graduated from high school, and as a phlebotomist for MDS laboratories and the
Barrie hospital for about 10 years. I was a union member at both Bell and the RVH. As a result
of an accident, I changed careers in the early 90s, returned to school, and started my own
garden business, which is still my current source of employment. I have always believed that it
is important to contribute to your community, and have contributed my time to the Barrie
Horticulture Society, Girl Guides of Canada, the Barrie Farmers Market, Communities in Bloom,
the Barrie Fair, and have been a member of the Historic Neighborhood Strategy since its
inception.
All of my work and volunteer commitments have demanded a level of organization, an
understanding of my community, commitment, and the ability to work with a diverse group of
people. These skills all translate to the position of a Trustee.
Working in a union environment, as well as being self-employed has given me a very broad view
of the workplace and all of its demands.
I have had no problem adjusting my schedule to accommodate the many obligations that
the role of Trustee demands. I must admit that I was surprised at the number of hours the
position has required and consider myself fortunate to have an employment situation that
allows me to adjust my schedule as necessary. I do believe that it is imperative that a
Trustee attends committee meetings, as well as Board meetings. Committee meetings are
where the real work of the Board takes place. I would suggest that the most rewarding of my
obligations has been my involvement in the SAL process, helping students overcome
personal challenges to get an education and achieve personal success. I believe that my
attendance record speaks for itself.
2. If elected as a school board trustee, what would be your top three (3) priorities--- and
why?
a) Student achievement in all areas, but especially in math. I feel we need to implement
short-term and long-term strategies as soon as possible. I will continue to advocate for
innovative program choices and opportunities for all of our students, but knowing the
financial challenges the government faces, we must find ways to continue to progress and
support our students within a sustainable framework.
b) Labour stability - In order for the public to have confidence in the education system they
support, I believe we all need to continue working toward a stable labour force. We need
teachers in the classroom. I have watched the struggle in British Columbia and I do not want
to replicate that situation in Ontario. Our students need to have the opportunity to acquire
the skills that parents speak to me about on a regular basis – cursive writing, basic math and
reading skills.
c) Public confidence - I am a strong believer in the well-being of our students, but my third
priority would be to educate the public and municipal leaders so they might better
understand the role of the Trustee, School Boards and how the education system in this
province functions, including all of the legislation that binds us, as well as the Education Act
itself. If we are successful in this pursuit, I feel we will be able to remove at least some of the
negative and confrontational atmosphere that complicates so many of our situations, and be
able to collaborate on the best possible outcomes for all.
3. What strategies would you use to ensure that publicly funded education remains a top
priority with the elected provincial government? What steps are you prepared to take to
promote/ensure positive student to teacher/support staff ratio?
The provincial government has made it clear that the opinion of individual Trustees is not
valued. That said, I believe the Board of Trustees collectively needs to present a stronger
voice to the Ministry. I would also encourage the Board to lobby OPSBA to keep publicly
funded education a priority and ratios that allow for differentiated instructional practices to
be used in classrooms, which allow all students to achieve their personal best. Classrooms
present ongoing challenging for teachers who deal with poverty, hunger, learning
disabilities, family dynamics, mental health, and the expectation of after-school sports and
clubs on a daily basis. We need a team approach, including our community partners and
political leaders, to support students and staff in these stressful times.
4. What do you see as some key issues for labour relations in the education
environment? What would you do to encourage and support a positive working relationship
with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation Representatives in your Board?
What is your opinion of Bill 122?
A stable labour situation is critical for the public system. I welcome opportunities for
conversations with teachers and am more than willing to listen to and act on their concerns
and challenges. Last year at the Canadian School Board Convention, I spoke with Trustees
from across the country regarding central negotiation and received a variety of opinions.
Many felt that their Boards fared better. The government has systematically removed power
from Boards in Ontario, and as Trustees, we need to concentrate on making our concerns
heard. We cannot rely solely on OPSBA. The Board should be contacting the Ministry to
express their opinions regularly and demand more input beyond that of OPSBSA.
5. What are our schools getting right these days? Where do you see room for
improvement?
We are finally finding ways to embrace technology, but we need to ensure that our teaching
staff is given sufficient PD to be able to successfully use technology to enhance their lessons.
We need to continue to find ways to provide safe environments for our students and staff.
One priority I believe we need to work on is transition planning for all of our students,
especially in secondary schools. Overall I believe that the SCDSB is doing a good job but will
always be looking for ways to improve.
6. Do you support the privatization of school services and the use of non-union personnel
as a cost saving measure?
No. I believe the government should be able to run our schools as efficiently as the private
sector. If our elected officials are not able to do that, I think we should be electing new
people who are competent to do so.
7.
What is your position on standardized testing in schools?
A standardized, unprepared-for test gives only a snapshot of student understanding. There is
so much more information that a teacher will have about his or her student that needs to be
considered before we come to a conclusion on a student’s success. While they can be useful,
we need to keep in mind that standardized testing results are only one aspect of a student
assessment and cannot be taken as a sole indicator of a student’s level of success.
8.
How will you support student and staff mental health and well-being in schools?
I do feel that the SCDSB has implemented many positive supports for students and staff and
should continue to work with our community partners in these areas. The school support
teams that have been implemented have allowed for a better understanding of students and
their families. Classroom dynamics and expectations can create a very stressful situation for
teachers. I will continue to support initiatives that will help relieve those stresses.
9.
What is the single greatest impact you plan to make for students?
As a member of the Board, I will continue to advocate for decisions based upon student
need and fight for their benefits ahead of interests of all other stakeholders.
10. How would you address the issue of declining enrollment and deteriorating buildings
and the negative impact of those on staff, students and communities?
I'm sure we are all aware that we have an aging population and families are having fewer
children and often later in life. I don't see how I can have any influence on either of these
trends but both have resulted in declining enrollment.
That being said, I believe we need to strive for excellence in all aspects of our education
system because you make a superior product with inferior ingredients. That means we need
to have excellent teachers doing excellent work in excellent facilities in all schools across the
county, so that we can inspire public confidence in the public system, and parents will want
their children to be a part of that system.
As a result of the needs of the education system decades ago, we are now left with buildings
that aren’t always adaptable to the current regulations or to modern technology, thus
limiting the learning opportunities for students. We also often have an uneven distribution
of children in relation to existing buildings. We can't move the existing schools to the
children. This leaves us little choice. When it is possible and the negative impacts are limited,
I will support retrofitting schools. If I feel the negative impacts are too great, I will support
building new schools or consolidating schools. I have a responsibility to work with within the
funding the Board is allocated in order to achieve the best outcomes for students. I must
make responsible financial decisions that will benefit not only our current students, but keep
future students from being negatively impacted by the decisions I make now.
11. Given the research supporting the view that up to one third of the teenagers do not
function well until later in the morning, what is your position on the early start times for a
number of high schools in this Board? Would you support a review of this early start-time
policy?
I have had discussions regarding this issue with the Director and would welcome the review.
I do believe that we need to prepare students for the next phase of their life. Although I
want to give students their best opportunity for success, many parents I have spoken to
regarding this issue feel that we would be doing a disservice to students by encouraging late
nights and school start times. As well, many of the students in the county rely on afterschool jobs, and early morning and afternoon athletic pursuits. I wonder if our teacher
coaches are going to be willing to stay later in the day to accommodate the late start. Can
we assume that student employers will be able to accommodate the new time frames?
Obviously there are many issues to examine and a review would give us the chance to look
at all aspects.
Other Comments (optional)
Thank you for your cooperation in completing this questionnaire.