LETTER TO THE EDITOR — Can you make a positive impact on local government?

Opinion

Now more than ever before, your voice matters.

On deliberations related to infrastructure investment, resource allocation for public schools and the programs they offer, student and community success, and the litany of other matters which are within the governance and decision-making authorities of our local school boards — your voice matters.

For all school boards and municipal councils in Manitoba, October 2024 marked the “halfway point” of their current terms and therefore, the time has come to start thinking about the next election in October of 2026.

It might seem early for the electorate at large, but for incumbents and prospective candidates alike, the wheels should already be turning on the topic of seeking or making nominations.

Many locally elected politicians who serve as school trustee will tell you that their decision to run the first time was one that took months or even years to make — which brings me to the crux of my message.

The first quarter of this 21st century has been tumultuous and challenging, with many democratic institutions stretched to their limits, not only on the global stage, but internationally in the North American context and certainly in the national, provincial and local arenas across Canada as well.

General discontent and distrust among citizens have in most cases, including right here in Manitoba, led to poor voter turnout for all levels of government. While statistics for school boards in Manitoba are difficult to come by, it is a reasonable assertion that voter turnout has followed the same alarming trends.

So while discontent and distrust are contributing factors for our collective sluggish attendance at the polls, a lack of candidates and therefore a lack of choice undoubtedly makes the problem worse.

Frustratingly, we can all think of examples of elections where the slate of candidates prompts us to stay away from the voting booth or in the case of acclamations, has us saying, “You’d think with all of these issues, more people would put their name forward to make things better.”

That’s why I’m writing this. Because you likely either know someone or you yourself are someone who can get in there and make a positive impact.

Public education is funded either directly or indirectly by all those who pay taxes, because public education forms the very foundation of our society’s future; future workforce, future parents and future leaders. Public education is therefore, of interest to everyone.

With this in mind and contrary to popular misconception, you don’t need to be a current parent to be a school board trustee. Indeed, the argument could be made that diversity of perspective, including from those without children in the public school system, for example, makes for highly representative school boards. Just as not every municipal councillor uses public transit, in the same way, this does not prevent them from seeking office to make important decisions regarding bus routes!

As a closing thought, I offer an acknowledgement of the obvious and a call to push back at it; few people think they have either the time or the patience for the thankless job of locally elected public life. If we think low voter turnout is a problem, by comparison, low candidate turnout is crisis.

What all communities across Manitoba, be they urban or rural, require now more than ever before, are strong and progressive voices to inform the local governance decisions that have the biggest impacts on their citizens.

Let’s be honest — if you’ve continued reading to this point, your level of interest in the topic almost guarantees that at a minimum, you know someone who should consider running in 2026. Or, you should consider seeking a nomination.

Please start to have these conversations within your own network of friends and colleagues. If you’d like more information on what school trusteeship entails, don’t hesitate to reach out to your local school board or the Manitoba School Boards Association.

Justice Murray Sinclair, serving as the chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, once remarked that “education got us into this mess and education can get us out of this mess.”

While speaking specifically about the path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians, this same statement reflects so much that lies in the power of public education to solve and provide. By extension, it also reflects the significant trust that those elected to our school boards are called to achieve through the policy and budget decisions that they make.

Are you ready and able to exercise that trust?

ALAN M. CAMPBELL

President

Manitoba School Boards Association