McConnell wants to give back as a BSD trustee

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This article was published 25/09/2023 (919 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Having lived in the Brandon School Division’s rural ward for 24 years, Lorraine McConnell wants to take a more active role in supporting the local education system that set her two children up for success.

This means running in the upcoming BSD byelection, where the division’s single rural seat is up for grabs.

Talking to the Sun over the weekend, the Sprucewoods resident said she brings a lot of knowledge and work experience to the table as a board member, particularly when it comes to early childhood development.

Through her role as the executive director of the Children’s Den daycare, McConnell has been working in the non-profit sector for the past two decades to secure adequate funding and ensure that local children have a solid foundation for learning before they enter grade school.

“You and I both know that education doesn’t start at five and end at 18. Education and learning is life-long,” she told the Sun on Saturday. “And so I believe it’s a continuum.”

While McConnell understands that BSD is responsible for looking after a much larger group of children with diverse needs, she believes that her experience in the non-profit world will help the board think outside the box and fill noticeable gaps in funding.

“It’s not that I believe boards of trustees are making the wrong decisions,” she said. “I believe they’re making the best decisions they can with what they have. But I believe that I might be able to offer support [by asking] ‘okay, so where do we go to ask for more funding? How do we advocate outside bodies for more funding?’”

That being said, McConnell does believe that certain members of the BSD school board could use a reminder about proper procedures, since they’ve been mired in distracting culture war issues since the spring.

During a May 8 school board meeting, former trustee Lorraine Hackenschmidt proposed installing a book review committee that would potentially ban material from the division that she, and other like-minded residents, found objectionable.

While the school board ultimately voted this proposal down two weeks later, the book review committee issue has lingered for months, with trustee Breeanna Sieklicki (the sole holdout in the May 23 vote and vocal supporter of the initiative) briefly resurrecting it through a motion on Aug. 28.

No one from the board came forward to second Sieklicki’s motion.

To McConnell, this approach cuts directly against her belief in consensus governance, where a board must show a unified front to the public once all votes have been cast.

“If you are not aligned with the decision of the board, you can ask to have your dissension recorded in the minutes just so it’s public record,” McConnell said. “But once that board has made that decision, you are obligated to support that decision and to move forward so the board can get on with the business of running and supporting the education system.”

Outside of objecting to the book review committee issue on procedural grounds, McConnell also believes that the campaign behind this issue is ethically wrong.

During her original presentation, Hackenschmidt highlighted the kinds of books that she believes should be banned, with most of those works dealing with matters related to sexual health or members of the LGBTQ+ community.

However, McConnell said removing this material runs diametrically opposed to the goal of public education, which is to create an environment that is welcoming to all students.

“And if you have a desire to have your child educated in a way that is not available at the Brandon School Division, you do have other options,” she said, referencing parents who send their children to private schools or simply teach them from home.

“But when we’re talking about a public education system, it has the obligation and the responsibility to hold, care for and work towards providing really good outcomes for all children. And withholding information from children is not an open and diverse education.”

While McConnell has never held or run for public office before, she believes that her experience and passion for this kind of work will ultimately shine through on the campaign trail.

“I am never going to step up and tell someone that they’re doing a bad job when I’m not in there doing that job as well,” she said. “I would much rather offer support. Tell me what you need. Tell me what I need to listen to. Tell me how I can help.”

McConnell’s sole opponent in the race to represent BSD’s rural ward is Henry Sieklicki, a retired health-care worker who is also Breeanna Sieklicki’s father-in-law.

Henry Sieklicki has consistently stood behind his daughter-in-law following the public backlash over her support of the book review committee idea. During a June 26 school board meeting, he could be seen holding up a sign that read “An attack on Breeanna is an attack on democracy.”

The upcoming BSD byelection is scheduled to take place on Oct. 25.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com