2014 Election Archive

As an incumbent trustee I respectfully ask for your support as I seek to serve a fourth term in my candidacy for the October 27 election in the Nipissing Parry Sound Catholic District School Board. Over …the next several years there will be some significant challenges that will include i) adjusting to the reality of declining enrolment, ii) promoting and protecting our system of catholic education both within our district and provincially and iii) working with the Board administration and ministry to ensure sufficient funding that will not just sustain but enhance our Board’s programs. Meeting these challenges will require trustees who have experience when making decisions that balance the interests of the ratepayer while providing the best possible educational experience for our students. Through my past and present work with the Board which includes serving as the Board’s Vice-Chair combined with my involvement with the Special Education Advisory Committee, Policy committee, Supervised Alternative Learning committee and, Education and Development committee, I believe I have this experience. My interest in education is the result of my own professional and personal experiences. For the past twenty-two years I have been employed by Canadore College serving as a professor and program coordinator. Before this I enjoyed a sixteen year career in policing as a member of the RCMP and North Bay Police Service. During this time I was pleased to have been involved in the development of safe school protocol. On the personal side my interest in education was also the result of being a parent of four children who all benefitted from our Board’s strong system of Catholic education and of course the wonderful teachers they had along their journey. Along with my wife Julie, I was always active in our children’s school related activities through our involvement with parent groups. I feel strongly about the importance of the parent-teacher-school partnership and I also believe strongly in the linkage between the Board and community groups which play a key advisory role in our Board’s programming. I am pleased that I have been able to contribute to the significant accomplishments of the current Board as we successfully dealt with the challenges of recent times that demanded cost efficient and creative solutions and policies within our governance model. I would be honoured to continue to contribute in my role as trustee for the Nipissing Parry Sound Catholic District School Board and again I would ask for your support on Election Day. More

As plainly as I can, I want to tell you who I am, what I believe in, what my hopes for the future are and what my vision for our school system is. Since my children started school, I have been active in …education, as Chair of St. Joseph’s-Scollard Hall, Chair of the Catholic Schools Foundation and a Trustee of the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board. My wife Rosemary and I were both born and raised in North Bay and will soon celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary. We have two daughters, Anna who is a graduate of Nipissing University and presently is a student in the Faculty of Law, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay and Kayla who recently graduated from Nipissing University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. I graduated from Laurentian University with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance and am a Chartered Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant. Today our concern must be with the future, for the world is changing. We need an education system that will take our young people through the 21st century, a time full of enormous possibilities and new opportunities. A school system that believes everyone can learn - schools that are welcoming, that are open and where all students should be able to succeed. I want to see students who are challenged, have imagination, are inventive and make good decisions. A standard of academic excellence that is without question! A Trustee’s job is to govern the Board. Above all, we must look ahead. We must provide for the education of our children and the children they will have and the children of generations to come. We must speak and act for them. For the needs that we seek to fill, the hopes that we seek to realize, the goals that we seek to achieve are not our needs, our hopes alone - they are the needs and hopes of the people who have placed their trust in us. Our policies set direction and they must reflect our values and purposes. We need to know that the school system is providing appropriate results and that they are being achieved - that the Board is efficient, economical, manageable and purposeful! I have a fundamental belief about all forms of government. A governing body that knows it true strengths, which sees its true challenges, which understands its constraints will not govern by confusion and crisis but is far stronger and will govern with grace, imagination and common sense. Ours is part of something else, a higher purpose – the 215 year old rich and proud history of Catholic Education in Ontario. It represents the harmony between tradition and progress shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth. The truth is that Catholic Education has made a difference in our lives! It is part of our tradition and it is our heritage! I remain committed to the enhancement and preservation of our distinctive Catholic Education System with its emphasis on faith and character education to ensure that our students will be well-developed persons and good citizens who are prepared for future learning and productive employment. Reading, writing, mathematics and comprehension are the cornerstones of learning. Only through curriculum with an intense focus on literacy and numeracy from Kindergarten to Grade 8 and from Grade 9 to Grade 12, will we be able to ensure that our students achieve the levels in these areas which are fundamental and foundational to success. Pupils are at many different learning levels and their needs have to be recognized and provided for with varied assessment strategies, specialized programs and support services to enhance every student’s skills and ability to learn. As a Trustee, I will continue working with and bringing together all those who share the responsibility for Catholic Education – parents, educators, students, clergy and parishes, government and community agencies. In this way, we will provide the best possible programs and services to our students. My family is no different than any other. My wife Rosemary, our daughters Anna and Kayla and I share the same bright vision that you do - opportunity for all, a good life with meaning and purpose, where everyone can make the most of their potential and I’m asking for you to re-elect me as a Trustee of the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board - to be ready for the future and recapturing the best in our tradition. More

I am married and have four children. I am a Parishioner at Pro Cathedral and have had 10 years experience with the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic School Board as a trustee. I was educated in the Separate …School System as were my children and am an active supporter of our Catholic Schools. I have been employed with Dr. Ferguson as a Dental Hygienist for 22 years. More

I have served as a Trustee with the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board since 1977, and have been Chair of the Board on several occasions, as well as both member and Chair of the Special …Education Advisory Committee for many years. As we prepare to move forward into the 21st Century, I am confident that with my ability and past experience, the Board will move forward in a positive manner to meet the needs of all our students. More

I have been a part of our school board for a very long time, as a student, parent and volunteer. I attended Our Lady of Sorrows School in Sturgeon Falls and graduated from St. Joseph-Scollard Hall. I have …three children attending NPSC schools so I have a very good idea of the successes and challenges the school board faces. I have been a member of the Catholic School Advisory Committee (CSAC) at my children’s schools and have been an active volunteer for 11 years. My son has autism and a learning disability, which propelled me into the world of Special Education. I have been a member of the NPSC Special Education Advisory Committee for several years and am currently the chair. Being a member of this committee has allowed me to garner knowledge of school board processes and the workings of the Ministry of Education. I also have experience sitting on several committees, including the local chapter of Autism Ontario where I held various positions, including chair, and I currently sit as president of the West Ferris Ringette Association. Interested parties can follow me on my candidate Facebook page and follow me on Twitter - @kellisaway and contact me at kellipace@cogeco.ca. More

George has been a resident of North Bay for the past 40 years. He is married to his wife Sherry of 49 years and together they have two children, John and Kelly. George has served on many boards in the …North Bay community. He was the Director of Fundraising for the Leukemia Society under the banner of UFCW Ontario. He served on the Board of Directors for L.T.A.B, and was a member of The North Bay Labour Council. George also served as Chancellor for The Knights of Columbus while residing in Kirkland Lake. George feels that his vast array of experience will serve the needs of the North Bay community as it relates to education. Both of George’s children have been teachers for the past 20 years plus, and George feels that he can be a voice for students, teachers, and the community at large. More

I have served as a Trustee with the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board - elected in 1997 to date - without missing a term. I have been Chair and Vice Chair of the Board and have sat on …all Board Committees. I am the Director of Tourism and Recreation for the Town of Mattawa, Co-Chair of the very successful Mattawa Voyageur Days Festival and volunteer on numerous community groups and committees. My focus has always been on the future development of all our students within our Catholic school system by having our students develop their Catholic faith which serves as a strong foundation in making informed moral decisions, have student acquire the necessary attitudes to lead a positive, healthy lifestyle, to have our students be responsible, respectful and caring stewards of the world and for our students to have knowledge and skills, appropriate to their age and learning ability, reach their full potential. More

I have been a resident of Powassan for 22 years and employed in North Bay. My wife and I have 5 children, all of which have attended Schools within the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board. …While my children attend grade school I was an active member of the Catholic School Advisory Committee (CSAC), including chairing these committees on several occasions. I also had the opportunity to sit for one term on the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) at the board. I am an active member of my parish community at Holy Name/St. Alphonsus; I currently chair the Parish Council. As a volunteer with a local Catholic Youth Group, I have been involved with weekly meetings and assist in facilitating Catholic based retreats for the youth of our area. As a trustee I look forward to working with the board in nurturing and promoting our Catholic Faith within our schools as well as maintaining our Catholic School System for generations to come. More