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Education is for all. 

As a “”, education opens doors that expand opportunities and freedoms. Providing quality education is a universal goal and is one that should transcend political divides. While education itself is not inherently political, its policies and approaches - such as funding and curriculum - can be. Preventing education from being politicized requires efforts from various partners, including policymakers, educators, parents, and communities.

School board trustees are policymakers with the authority to enact local decision-making in response to local need. The FSD Board of Trustees regularly advocates for 69堂精品app, lobbying the provincial government on behalf of our students. This is because as locally elected officials, school board trustees currently have the autonomy to debate and vote on education issues based on the best interests of their students, unbound by the ideology of any political party. Unfortunately, this may be changing.

As the 2023-2024 school year got underway, Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver shared that the provincial government would be ‘opening up’ the Local Authorities Election Act and the Municipal Government Act, amending the legislation to introduce political parties into local government. In surveys aimed at engaging Albertans around this amendment, more than  to the suggestion that the electoral ballots for municipal councilor and for school board trustee should allow political parties to be listed along with the names on ballots. Despite the obvious lack of support found in the results of both surveys and , Minister McIver has stated that this amendment may come as early as the next legislative session this spring.

The FSD Board of Trustees adds its voice to the widespread opposition politicizing municipal election ballots and supports calls for the amendment to be scrapped. 

The focus of educational decisions must always be made in the best interests of students.

When educational decisions are made based on political agendas rather than educational merit, the quality of education suffers. Politicization of education runs the risk of serving political interests rather than providing students with a well-rounded and unbiased education. Additionally, it can undermine trust in our educational institutions and leadership, leading to disillusionment with the education system as a whole. 

All Albertans benefit from broad-based support for education initiatives across political parties and ideological divides. We need to emphasize the shared goals and values of education. We must promote equity and opportunity, and more importantly, ensure that education truly is for all. 

Yours in education,

Theresa Letendre
Board Chair