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B OPINION BOARD ‘STILL COULDN'T RESIST REMINDING US HOW MUCH CONTROL IT HAD OVER THE PROCESS’ It's often been said the best officials in sports are the officials you don't even notice. er words, they go about their work in so effec- tive and efficient a fashion, they don't interfere at all in the game. The same can be said for the best governance. We e: pect our elected officials to go quietly and diligently about the business of gov- the job done Sith as little fuss as possible. For almost 200 years, this has 8 arguably been the school boards. “That is, untilrevent times, as ego runs amok among a group of public school trustees, and we are left only to observe them in their divine function. The past nine months have been particularly dis- - MIKE FARWELL Column tractin: When the need i suddenly arose to fill tw seats, the Waterloo eee District School Board (WRDSB) decided to ap- point new members of its own choosing. Rather than following the most democratic route and conducting a by- election, the WRDSB deemed democracy too ex- pens The board also decided that appointing runners-up @e Hear CANADA TURN UP LIFE, WATERLOO. Better hearing is here at your new HearCANADA centre, now open at Unit 3, 94 Bridgeport Road East. If hearing loss has lowered your life's enjoyment, it's time to turn it up! * Get a free hearing assessment from a certified professional* * Enjoy same-day fittings* ¢ Leave with a hearing solution that suits your lifestyle Want to test drive the latest hearing tech for free? Call 1-866-623-3749 or pre-book online at HearCANADA.com r those over 50 from the previous election would be a poor choice. In- stead, applications were in- fi decide which new members it would welcome into its circle. Ultimately, the WRDSB with progressive wole. es, very much like the vious members who rettt the seats vacant. While this de- cision makes sense, the boards still couldn'tresistre- yw much con- trol it thea over the process. Invited applicants had to meet basic criteria such as eligibility to vote, Canadian citizenship, a minimum age and Waterloo region resi- dency. This is in keeping with the criteria one would have to meet if running for municipal office. But for the WRDSB, it didn't automatically allow you the chance to be consid- ered for appointment to the board. Somewhere between meeting that criteria and making a presentation to the board, applicants were weeded out. Not every per- son who applied, and met the necessary criteria, was ywed to make a presenta- fon to the board in hopes of earning a seat. Why and how these ap: plications were vetted i: known only to the WRDSB, ‘onsider this in the con- text of the recent mayoral race in Toronto, which fea- tured 102 candidates. Each of these candidates would have met the base criteria outlined above and had their name added to the bal- loti in hopes of earning your vote. In Waterloo region, - meeting that base criteria can't even assure you an au- dience with our public school board. Maybe there were 102 ap- plicants, and the board didn't want to listen to so many presentations. Maybe the board should have con- sidered that before choos- ing to appoint new mem- bers on its own. Now, we're left with a board that has demonstrat- ed that only it — and not voters — should be entrust- this board knows which ap- plicants were deemed wor- MAIN ENTRANCE Metroland file photo. Why and how the bain were vetted is known only to the WRDSB, writes Mike Farwel €Z0z ‘Oz Aine ‘Aepsinyy | e191 thy of making a presenta- mn. nome Ihave two sincere s for the board this toon One is WRDSB trust- ees discover some measure of humilit ee, other is that voters ill have and remember this th then next time they are entrusted to mark a ballot. Columnist Mike Farwell is a broadcaster, MC and advocate. Follow him on Twitter at @farwell_WR, or connect with him via Mike. Farwell@rci.rog- ers.com. i 3 3 3 5 is = i 8 2