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Revised (Nov 20 2008)
Trustee Workload - Example 2
Diana Mumford, vice-chair of the Burnaby Board of Education
Diana is a member of many committees and each meeting requires considerable preparation. Even on rare days where there are no meetings, a portion of the day is devoted to school trustee work. Each month quickly fills up with report reading, research, calls, e-mails, in-person conversations and attendance at special events and meetings. “You get out of it what you put into it,” Diana said.
Diana’s appointment calendar includes:
Board of education meetings, twice a month
District standing committees
Chair of Education Committee, meets once a month
Member of the Buildings & Grounds Committee, once a month
Member of the Finance Committee, twice a month from January to April
Member of the Policy Committee, once a month
Member of the Youth & Community Services Committee, once a month
District committees District Parent Advisory Committee, once a month
District Student Advisory Committee, once a month
Student Intervention, meets when required, usually weekly
for one to five hours during the day
Screening committee, up to three a year
This requires reading applications, discussing with other committee members, and providing direction to senior staff for the hiring of vice-principals, principals and directors.
ESL Consortium, every two months
Diana chairs meetings when the chair is not available
As board vice-chair
Attend events and meetings on behalf of the chair if she is not available
Liaison trustee
As liaison trustee to two secondary schools, seven elementary schools, specialty programs and adult and continuing education centres and programs, there are invitations to graduation ceremonies, concerts, special events, issues forums, and so on. One week Diana attended a two-hour school meeting on a traffic issue, volunteered to help parents at a school sell hot dogs outside a grocery store
and attended a school play.
Special needs awareness
Each trustee was “adopted” by a family of a special needs child to enable trustees to have regular contact (every two to three months) with the family.
Informal contact
Calls, e-mails and in-person contact from parents, staff and community members, which often involves calling staff for information or resolution, notifying the person who made the initial contact and further follow-up.
Media contacts
Taking calls, being interviewed and accompanying reporters on school visits (many of these calls require prior research and calls to staff for information, clarification, etc.)
Community committees
Community Issues (a city council committee), once a month Graffiti Task Force, met regularly until report was complete, now meets every three months Task Force on Sexual Exploitation of Children & Youth, once a month (Diana is also a member of two of the three sub-committees of this group.)
BCSTA commitments
BCSTA Metro Branch meetings, once a month
BCSTA Board of Directors, once a month
In addition to regular BCSTA Board meetings, Diana is the liaison to two BCSTA branches, necessitating regular contact with the board chairs for those 12 districts and attendance at branch meetings in Terrace, Powell River and Maple Ridge
BCSTA’s Education Committee, three to four times a year
BCSTA Provincial Council, twice a year
BCSTA academies, AGM
Community events
In the past, Diana attended or was a presenter at:
• a city event to raise awareness of organ donation
• the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration in Ottawa
• the Canadian School Boards Association pre-conference program regarding refugees
• the Canadian Red Cross community outreach series.
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Example 1 - Roberta Hall
