2014 Winnipeg Civic Election

Why did you decide to run in the 2014 School Board Election?

I was inspired to run in LRSD by my children. As a parent, I understand and I am a strong believer in the value of the public education system. I care deeply about the quality of education received by all students and want to ensure a positive education experience is provided to all. I believe that for our children to develop socially, physically and mentally they must be provided a safe, inclusive and positive environment in which to learn. I want to be part of shaping this education environment with the support of the community.

With new challenges on the horizon – provincial funding, 20K-3 initiative, new school in Sage Creek to name a few - it is important to bring a new voice and fresh ideas to the table. We can’t continue to rely on ‘typewriter’ methods in a ‘smartphone’ world. We must continue to move our education system forward using new technology and advances so we don't continue to lag behind. The solution lies within each school board and their mandates to the education professionals that teach our students.

I would be honoured to be able to carry your voice as a school trustee.

What experience will you bring to compliment your role as School Trustee?

The most important experience I can bring is being a parent. Having children attending school in the division, I am able to see first-hand the challenges they face and the rewards they get out of our school system. I understand the challenges of juggling outside priorities with school. I understand the challenges with child care in schools, I understand transportation issues for schools, I understand school supply shopping, I understand challenges in engaging the community…..I understand. I want to work together with the board to address all these and more.

As a professional and leader, I work daily with a diverse group of people. I have vast experience in building and working with successful, dynamic teams. I have built and set budgets, outlined and managed performance, recognized process improvements and worked to better the experience of both staff and members of the community we serve. I currently serve as Director with the Credit Union Managers Association of Manitoba. I'm also an active participant in the Credit Union Young Leaders Association of Manitoba. I have a B.A. degree from Brandon University and a Certificate in Management from the University of Winnipeg.

What are some issues that you would like to stand for in your role as School Trustee, and why are these issues important to you?

Student safety. A schools geographical location or what road it is on or how close it is to a middle years school or a high school, or how high the grade level of the school is, should not be overriding factors to student safety. There is an opportunity for LRSD to be a leader by creating 30KM/h limits in all school zones regardless of the schools location or circumstance.

A vibrate, successful school system starts with community engagement. Reporting back to the community, creating feedback loops to better understand the community needs, meeting with educators regularly to get feedback are all areas of importance. Setting standards for trustees to attend Parent Council and School Council meetings, not waiting to be invited, taking initiative and reaching out to these groups and arranging attendance. Find ways to involve the community in the decision making process - invite residents into board processes through various opportunities for committee involvement.

Invest in our education professionals. I want to ensure that all those people that form a part of our students education experience continue to grow and learn as professionals. Ensuring that their development aligns with student needs.

What is one thing in particular that you appreciate about the school ward or school division you wish to represent?

Diversity. It means so many things, but in our ward, we have diverse families and schools with needs that are changing and evolving. As a school board, we need to make sure that we continue to provide opportunities for our community to thrive. With 40 schools, and close to 15,500 students and teachers, we need to ensure that we provide a safe, inclusive environment that develops the social, mental and physical capacity of our students.

To achieve this goal we need to make sure we have strong measures in place to direct the education of our students. We need to find ways to better track and recognize the successes and failures in our schools. When we fail we need to be accountable, take responsibility, learn from it and put standards in place to keep it from repeating. When we succeed we need to recognize success, shout it from the rooftop, and teach everyone how to also be successful.

I want LRSD to do more than say the words in their mission and vision statement, but rather, live these statements in everything they do. That these statements are used to shape the foundation of policy creation.

Do you have any other comments regarding your candidacy?

We continue to face challenges with our education system. Our community needs someone that is going to face these challenges and represent the views of the community in a fair, safe, professional manner. I want to act as a conduit between the members of our community and LRSD to ensure that we are not missing opportunities to be better.

With two new communities about to start being built in our ward - precinct J and precinct K we need to start considering the long term impacts of these developments. Many families in our ward will be impacted and we need to start to manage those expectations. Over the next few years we have an opportunity to be proactive in managing our impact on these developments instead of being reactive after the fact.

I invite you to follow my campaign on social media - Twitter using @Justin4Trustee, Facebook using www.facebook.com/justinfortrustee, E-mail using [email protected] and on my website at www.justin4trustee.wix.com/justin

Thank you for your support and your continued support of our strong public school system!