Question 1 – Zone 3 Responses
Will you act to postpone the appointment of a new OCDSB director? If no, what are your reasons? If yes, what are your reasons and how will you act?
Submissions in alphabetical order:
– Donna Blackburn
– Alex Sivasambu
– Amy Wellings
Donna Blackburn – No
I support the Board’s decision to proceed with choosing and hiring a new Director of Education.
Alex Sivasambu – Yes
Personally, I prefer new trustees to make the decision since we are only less than 60 days towards the new mandate, but existing trustees also have a role to play.
Amy Wellings – No
I will not advocate for postponing the appointment of the new Director of Education. There is nothing that I have seen from the process that the current board is following that gives me reason to be concerned. They have hired a well respected firm to support them through the consultation process and have consulted the public in helping them build the profile of their ideal candidate. In conversations I have had with current members of the board I am confident that they are respecting the process and are committed to hiring the best individual for the job.
Delaying the process now would needlessly disrupt the recruitment process that has already been started and could easily result in the loss of potentially strong candidates for the role due to the indecision. It reflects poorly on the OCDSB to delay the process at this point. The retirement of Director Adams was announced months ago and the board that is currently in place has an obligation to their constituents to fulfill their duties to the best of their abilities for their full term and in this case that also includes hiring a new director.
Would I like to be involved? Absolutely! But I believe that it is in the best interest to have a director selected and in place as close to the departure of the current director as possible. The delay of the hiring process is unnecessary and would delay us from hitting the ground running upon being sworn in this December.