Category Archives: School trustee role

Definition of public education “transparency”

March 27, 2010 – 11:24 am

This post is an addendum to yesterdays post B.C. Public Education - Who is minding the shop?
“Transparency” is a popular word used to describe the concept of open government. But what, exactly, does in mean in practical terms?
Here is my working definition.  I welcome comments and suggestions.
Government/public institution transparency consists of four key components:

The depth and breadth of the information available to the public
The effectiveness of  communication around what information is available
The ease and convenience of locating the information
The level of accessibility of the information to the average member of the public. For example,  formatting and plain language packaging.

By Katherine Wagner | Also posted in Public Education Reform | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)

Public school trustees and private choices

December 19, 2009 – 2:31 pm

Last week on her blog Report Card, Janet Steffenhagen revealed that 1st term (elected November 2008) Maple Ridge School Trustee Mike Huber’s eldest child is attending kindergarten at a private school.
Responsible parents make choices for their children that are in the best interest of  their children. When  one parent is a politician the public may have a legitimate interest in certain family decisions but that interest should stop at the point that it becomes a judgment of the choice itself.
Trustee Huber has publicly explained the reasons for the decision and they include access to all-day kindergarten, smaller class sizes and [...]

By Katherine Wagner | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (1)