Linda Ross seeks another term on Brandon school board

Brandon School Division board chair Linda Ross is seeking another term as a school trustee.

Ross, who is the acting dean of the Faculty of Health Studies at Brandon University, said she is running in the Oct. 28 election because she has more to contribute to a school system that has changed considerably during her more than three decades on the board.

Ross, who has been board chair for roughly eight years during her current stint, said education remains one of her most important values and continues to be work she considers worth pursuing.

“If re-elected, equity and inclusion will remain my priorities, alongside the division’s core academic mandate,” she told the Sun.

She said treating students equitably does not necessarily mean treating every student identically, because students can begin from different circumstances and therefore require different levels of support.

Ross also highlighted truth and reconciliation and the need for the school division to continue improving outcomes and supports for Indigenous students.

“I would like to see more Indigenous teachers in Brandon classrooms; students benefit from seeing themselves represented among the people teaching and leading them,” she said.

Ross first joined the board after moving to Brandon from Toronto in 1987, when her oldest child was about six years old. She said she initially wanted to become involved in education after seeing issues within the school system that she did not understand or agree with.

Since then, Ross said the role of schools has expanded beyond its traditional academic focus, with the division taking a more holistic approach to students’ well-being.

“Our primary mission is academic, but kids can’t learn if they don’t have a good overall environment,” she said.

Ross said food security, emotional well-being, family circumstances and physical safety are issues that can affect a student’s ability to learn.

She said the division has made progress through initiatives such as breakfast and lunch programs and efforts to support students and families who face food insecurity.

“You can’t teach kids if they’re hungry,” Ross said.

The division’s English as an additional language programming expanded significantly during periods of heavy immigration, Ross said, as schools worked to provide newcomers with enough functional English to participate in classrooms.

She also said she has been encouraged by the increasing diversity among the division’s teaching staff.

Ross said she has noticed more teachers with backgrounds from countries such as Nigeria and Ghana join the division in recent years.

“I think that’s important for kids to be able to see themselves in their teachers and to have those role models,” she said.

Funding remains a major concern, Ross said, particularly as school divisions face competing demands and taxpayers ultimately fund government at both the provincial and municipal levels.

“Manitoba’s education funding formula needs to be reviewed because it has been in place for decades and does not adequately account for differences among school divisions,” she said.

“The goal should be funding that is equitable rather than simply equal, and that reflects the different challenges faced by individual school divisions.”

Bringing new voices to the board is also important, she said.

With Trustees Jim Murray, Calistus Ekenna, and Breeanna Sieklicki not seeking re-election, Ross said she wants to see people with children currently in the school system and greater representation of Brandon’s diverse population at the board table.

“We need to have those voices at the table to bring those concerns and those issues forward that you may not even think about if it’s not your own lived experience,” she said.

“The board needs both experienced trustees and new members who are willing to question why things are done a certain way.”

Safety is another issue Ross identified as increasingly important for schools.

She said students and staff need to feel both psychologically and physically safe before they can effectively learn and work.

“It is unfortunate that schools can no longer remain as open as they once were, but that the measures reflect current safety concerns,” she said.

“It makes me sad that our doors are locked, but at the same time I understand why that has to be the case.”

After more than 30 years as a trustee, Ross said education remains important enough to her that she would have pursued the role even without the stipend attached to it.

“Education can change and does change lives,” she said.

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