Only one hopeful responded to Gleaner questions

Seven candidates are running for trustee in the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) Ward 9: Norm Di Pasquale, Iola Fortino, Alfredo Garcia, Denise Gracias, Angelo Harrison, Marnie MacCallum, and Sandra Weber. Ward 9 includes city wards 10, 11, 12, and 13.

The questions below were developed by the residents’ associations and BIAs in our coverage area. We emailed the questions to all candidates, and gave them a week to respond, asking them to keep each answer to 100 words or less. Only Di Pasquale responded to our calls and emails; his answers are below.The answers were edited only for length, grammar, and style.

Compiled by Ellie Hayden

How will you address violence in the classroom towards both children and teachers? —Palmerston Area Residents’ Association 

I would ensure that the Catholic board implements all recommendations from the Provincial Working Group on Health and Safety. The recommendations include ensuring all parties understand the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, ensuring staff understand any potential risk of physical injury in their school, and streamlining requirements to report incidents of violence in schools. Also important are ensuring there are up to date resources for bullying prevention, as well as progressive discipline while promoting positive student behaviour.

What background and experience do you have in educational and institutional financial management? —Harbord Street BIA

I ran an IT company for 10 years, setting a monthly and annual budget for the corporation. As a Virtual CIO for companies I worked for (including governmental organizations), I would take companies’ annual IT budget and determine the best way for them to spend that budget for maximum business value. As the chair of the successful community group NoJetsTO, I was responsible for setting and determining our budget, ensuring we didn’t overspend to meet our goal, which we did.

Do you support amalgamating the public and Catholic school boards? —Annex Residents’ Association

I do not support amalgamation of the school boards. All schools must be defended against being shut down, as they are critical community hubs. Amalgamation would certainly lead to schools being shut down. I am also concerned at the potential loss of jobs amalgamation of the boards would bring. Finally, I ask rhetorically, how well did Toronto’s amalgamation go with respect to saving costs?

READ MORE ON THE ELECTION:

FOCUS: Putting candidates to the Gleaner test (City Election 2018)

FORUM: Take back Toronto on the 22nd (City Election 2018)

FOCUS: Should the public and Catholic boards be amalgamated? (City Election 2018)