The new chair of Hamilton's public school board wants the public to know that there are no stupid questions, so people can feel free to ask the new board anything.
Todd White, who at 30 became the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board's youngest-ever chair on Monday, pledged a new board that is more open and transparent, so people shouldn't be afraid to ask whatever they want to know.
"With students, we tell them there are no stupid questions," he said.
"We shouldn't be holding our communities to any other standard. If you have a question, we want to hear it. We should not be in the business of shutting down that question, or ignoring the fact that it's been received."
Critics say the board hasn't always had such an open philosophy.
During the last term of the board, trustees voted to close eight high schools and build three, as well as close nearly a dozen elementary schools. In an eleventh-hour closed-door meeting, trustees also voted down a joint city plan that would have kept the board's headquarters in downtown Hamilton.
Seven of HWDSB's 13 trustees are new this term, and had their inaugural meeting Monday. Some of them, such as Christine Bingham in Ward 1 and 2 and Larry Pattinson in Ward 3, were opponents of school closures and the board's lack of transparency.
People can expect to see a more transparent board, White said. He pledges one that fields questions before it makes decisions.
"We don't want people to think decisions are being made in private and we're simply bringing the questions and the results have already been determined," said White, who by day is a constituency assistant for MPP Paul Miller.
Alex Johnstone, trustee for Ancaster, Glanbrook and east Stoney Creek, is the new vice chair.
Here's what else White had to say:
On when the board plans to do another accommodation review:
There are three elementary accommodation reviews (west Hamilton, lower Stoney Creek and east Mountain) planned for September 2015. But trustees can change that. "That's entirely up to the new board of trustees."
The long-term facilities master plan schedule "is a living document, so it can change yearly," he said. Trustees will have a chance to do that by the end of the school year.
On half of the board being new, and director John Malloy leaving for a Ministry of Education job:
White says it's not the sign of a board in distress, but a natural time for the turnover. The past board of trustees achieved what it wanted, he said, and "made their mark as they saw fit. It really came to the end of something special."
The current board will focus on collaboration and openness, White said.
"Openness is something that really does start at the board level, so this board has an opportunity to lead by example," he said.
On the board being more transparent:
Trustees will "put the brakes" on items that are moving too quickly, he said. It won't be a written rule. "It's not as if we need to change a policy or practice that says this board needs to be more transparent," he said. "These are the unwritten rules that are articulated through a lot of the conversations we have with those communities."
To people who didn't like the last four years:
"I would say that this board is on a forward trajectory. If you're unhappy with past board decisions, then get involved. Speak with this board. You will have the opportunity to review any and all strategies that are in the works.
"I don't expect this board to backtrack because we're committed to moving forward, but moving forward can include other factors and variables that perhaps the other board id not consider. There's every opportunity to get involved and try to change the future."
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