My Boggled Mind

It isn’t a secret that I’m not particularly enamored of politics, in particular politicians.  I know of very few that I like or trust, not that I spend much of my time in the company of  elected officials, but I’ve come across enough to form an opinion.

For this reason I was not even remotely surprised that Courtice resident Marie Visser has made her move to climb to the next rung in her political career;  School Board Trustee.

Now I know that my BS meter is dysfunctional at best, I almost have to be hit by a truck before I realize that I’m being snowed but I have been hit by the Marie Visser truck.

This wasn’t supposed to be, and isn’t going to be, a blog about Ms. Visser but if her intention is to become a school board trustee, I feel compelled to be the gadfly in the ointment so to speak.

I’m sure my point of view will not be popular.  Marie has become quite a celebrity in Courtice and in Clarington both in print and on the web of late.  She is well known for her active role in the community including soccer coach, school council fundraising chair (among other titles) at Dr. G.J. MacGillivray School in Courtice, as well as playing a prominent role on the Clarington School Council Association as Vice Chair this year.  Ms. Visser has run several successful charity events and is a member of the Courtice Rotary Club.  All in all, what appears to me to be a very nicely organized path of stepping stones for an amateur politician with clear career goals.  But where there is a bright side, there is often a dark side.

What strikes me as somewhat odd is where her announcement to run for Clarington School Board Trustee in the 2010 election originated.

If you are a parent or a student in the Kawartha Pine Ridge School Board area, you are probably aware of the changes to the school year calendar for 2009-2010 school year.  What you may not be aware of is the process in making the decision.  Among the things the KPR school board did was collect information and opinions from numerous sources including school councils.

I happen to know that the Dr. G.J. MacGillivray School Council voted for Option A on the questionnaire.  Option A was to start the school year on September 8th, option B was to start the school year on September 1st.

The strange thing I was eluding to earlier is that Marie Visser, while representing the Dr. G.J. MacGillivray School Council as their regional representative, vocally took the position of opposition to option A.  Not only did she oppose the option, but from what I understand,  led an advocate group of parents voicing their objections to a September 8th start.  While I am sure that Marie was able to well define her differing positions, one as a representative of the MacGillivray council and one as “a parent” as well as having to reconcile both of those with being the Vice Chair of CSCA – it would be a wonder if more people weren’t left puzzled at the apparent conflict.

It’s also interesting to note that when she gave her statements to the Peterborough Examiner she felt no need to hold any punches.  She is quoted as saying

she is “upset and angry that the local public school board buckled to pressure from local businesses that urged trustees to consider the economic impact of having local students start school before Labour Day.”

“I believe there are several businesses that have put a lot of pressure on the trustees that represent their areas and that’s why certain trustees voted the way they did,”

“(The trustees) are here to act in the best interests of the students and that didn’t happen tonight.”

“The trustees totally ignored the feedback and communication they did get,” Visser said, adding she plans to throw her hat into the ring to be Clarington trustee in the next election based on this issue. “They aren’t being accountable to students.”

Pretty hefty accusations being thrown at the trustees, I would like to know a little more about the discussion but here is how the trustees voted:  You’ll note that the two Clarington Trustees voted in line with Ms. Visser so I’m not seeing a connection between her statements (above) and how the Clarington Trustees voted.

Chairwoman Diane Lloyd– No

Vice-chairman Steven Cooke – No (Clarington Trustee)

Trustee Cyndi Dickson – Yes

Trustee Rose Kitney – Yes

Trustee Brad Mills – Yes

Trustee Roy Wilfong – Yes

Trustee Cathy Abraham – No (Clarington Trustee)

Trustee Verna Shackleton – No

Trustee Brian Cowie – Yes

Trustee Angela Lloyd – No

Trustee Gordon Gilchrist – Yes

Student trustee Eryn Lidster – No (doesn’t count officially)

*Was not a recorded vote

So?  Big Deal?

Not really, often times things don’ t appear as “Big Deals” until you start examining them under the Big Picture Microscope and then you might very well discover that these ‘no big deal’ issues tell a story of their own.

What is my point?  Buyer beware.  Just because an apple looks all red and shiny on the outside, doesn’t mean it’s not dark and ugly on the inside.