Ryan Pens Letter to TVDSB

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Friday, 18 October 2019 14:27

The Mayor of Zorra Township and the Vice Chair of the Community Schools Alliance is upset that his request for a delegation to the TVDSB to address the potential consideration of rescinding the closure of Springfield and New Sarum Public Schools was denied.

The Mayor of Zorra Township and the Vice Chair of the Community Schools Alliance is not very happy with the Thames Valley District School Board right.

Marcus Ryan has penned a letter to the Board Chair Arlene Morell. Ryan is upset that his request for a delegation to the TVDSB to address the potential consideration of rescinding the closure of Springfield and New Sarum Public Schools was denied. Ryan was told that the School Board is not accepting public input at this time. He will be at the next meeting on Tuesday night and is hoping he will be able to speak in support of good governance, and the Springfield and New Sarum communities

You can read Ryan's full letter to the TVDSB below:

Chair Morell,

As the Vice Chair of the Community Schools Alliance I recently submitted a request to make a delegation to the Thames Valley District School Board’s October 22nd Board Meeting to address the potential consideration of rescinding the closure of Springfield and New Sarum Public Schools.

Yesterday I received an email in response (from the Supervisor, Corporate Services/FOI Coordinator) informing me that:

“At this time, we are not accepting public input as the motions have yet to be put forward to the Board of Trustees for their consideration. Should all or some of the motions be put on the floor, the Trustees may determine at that time whether public input on the issue is desirable. If there is an open call for public input I will be sure to follow up with you.”

I have asked for the relevant portion of the appropriate bylaw that justifies denying this request. In addition, it is my understanding that there is a Chair’s Committee that reviews delegation requests (if this is inaccurate please let me know the mechanism), please let me know who is on the Committee and how they voted.

I am shocked that the Board would not, as a matter of course, want to be accessible and open to hearing from residents in the TVDSB family.

It is a fundamental and essential principal of democracy that elected officials who spend tax dollars and make decisions about our children’s (and by extension our communities’) future be open and welcoming of input from citizens whether solicited or not. It is deeply troubling that a resident’s input may not be considered “desirable”, and that the Board would only want to hear input on motions that have already been put forward to the board. Is it so impossible to imagine that a resident making a delegation might prompt a motion to be put to the Board?

As a Head of Council myself I cannot imagine a scenario where we would deny a resident the right to address their elected council (or board).

This matter speaks to the accessibility, transparency, accountability, and indeed the decision making ability of the Board. How can any of it’s decisions be justified with such a closed door approach to public input?

I look forward to your response as I trust your personal integrity on such matters implicitly.

Marcus Ryan
Mayor, Zorra Township