•Th e IFP• H alton H ills, Thursday, O ctober 16, 2014 11 School trustees answer: Why am I running? As a 30-year resident of Glen Williams and later Georgetown, I am passionate about publicly funded educa- tion. Like you, I have a vested interest in making a contribution to the achievement and well being of the children and youth in Halton Hills. Together we share a collec- tive commitment to ensure that the Halton District School Board adapts to meet the changing needs of our children and youth. I promise to provide effective leadership and ongoing advocacy as your school board trustee. As a former educator, ad- ministrator and volunteer in the public education system for the past 32 years, I bring a range of skills, knowledge and re- lated experiences to the position of school board trustee. I have an in depth aware- ness of the challenges and opportunities facing education today. My commitment to provide responsive leadership ensures strong representation for the Halton Hills community. I want to continue to be the Public School Trustee for Halton Hills because I believe I am the best person to keep the voice of Halton Hills front and centre in all our board discussions and ensure our voic- es are heard. I believe that our families and students do have needs and interests that are different from those in other commu- nities in Halton and need to be heard and considered in all our board decisions. I have worked hard both to raise our issues at the Board table and at the same time bring back information from the Board to our com- munity. I regularly attend School Council meetings in both Acton and Georgetown and provide a board meeting summary to all School Council chairs after each meeting so that everyone is kept informed and up to date on the discussions. With my experi- ence I will hit the ground running ready to continue to represent your needs. I am running as Catholic School Trust- ee for Halton Hills to continue the work I began when I was first elected in 2010. Some of my constituents elected me to fight for reduced secondary school bus- sing distance, which came into effect this year. I have been working with our MPP to obtain a replacement school for the aging Holy Cross, which I am still working towards. All Halton Hills schools are full and further growth is on its way. I have been working to keep our test scores the highest in the province. I have also been working with my colleagues to update our policies and the way our Board func- tions. Finally I am running to ensure the continuance of our Catholic School sys- tem, admired around the world! I am running because I have a fresh firsthand perspective of the challenges students face as they go through the edu- cational system and the critical decisions they face regarding their future from an early age. I believe it is important to fo- cus on the school curriculum and educa- tional experiences through the lens of our unique Catholic perspective and ensure parents are well informed as they are the primary educators of their children. I want these connections to be clear and consis- tent. Our Catholic Faith makes us differ- ent and unique- it should set us apart and make others in our community take notice, and that is what I will strive to in- still in our schools. Jeanne Gray Alice Strachan John Mark Rowe Ante Skoko HALTON DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD HALTON DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD HALTON CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD HALTON CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD Age: 58 Occupation: Secondary School principal up to July 2014 Past elected experience: None Age: 58 Occupation: School trust- ee, historian, author and community volunteer, for- mer Catholic school teach- er for 31 years Past elected experience: school trustee since 2010 Age: 54 Occupation: HDSB trustee two years Past elected experience: President of Georgetown Soc- cer club plus other volunteer positions in the community Age: 27 Occupation: Civil engineer Past elected experience: none