Making a commitment to education

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontiental.ca

With plenty of time and commitment required, being a school board commis-sioner is no easy task. According to two Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) commissioners, however, while the job may not be rewarding monetarily, satisfaction comes in many other forms. “Every time you go into a

school and you have a chance to deal with kids, it rewarding. And you remember why you stay involved,” said LBPSB chairman and Ward 11 commissioner Marcus Tabachnick.

Tabachnick was first elected as a commissioner in the old Lakeshore School Board in 1987 and became its chairman in 1994. He maintained his position as commissioner and chairman for the LBPSB since it was created in 1998, and filed his nomination papers for this year’s school board election yesterday. Looking back 20 years, the Dollard des Ormeaux resident and father of two said he initially got involved as a concerned parent. “Most people get involved in anything because there is a cause. And I was mad at the school board, because they were considering major changes at the school where my kids were enrolled,” said Tabachnick, adding he had also been involved with various committees and the Home and School association. “People came and talked to me and asked me if I’d do it, and I said I’d think about it. And, 20 years later, I’m still there.”

Former teacher, principal and long-time West Islander John Killingbeck threw his hat into the ring in the last school board elections in 2003 and will be doing so again this year. While Killingbeck, who had retired from teaching in 1995, stayed active in the education domain through working with the Pearson Education Foundation, it was not enough after a while. “I missed school. I missed interacting with the people and having the responsibility of working with kids. And I missed the involvement with parents and the various stakeholder groups,” he said. Although I was close to it (school), it wasn’t the same.”

Killingbeck, who was the only candidate in Ward 10 and was acclaimed as commissioner in the 2003 election, said the past four years have been full of a lot of hard work and even more rewarding experiences, including the recent Terry Fox Walk-a-thon at St. Thomas High School in Pointe Claire. “Just seeing the focus on the students’ faces was something,” he said. “Sometimes I think the (past four years) have been rewarding because of a certain selfishness I have. I just enjoy going to schools.”

With just under 71,000 eligible electors in the LBPSB region, Killingbeck hopes the majority will come out and vote in the school board elections on Nov. 4. “Our hope is that it will

be a good contest and that there will be a good turnout,” he said, adding that the more voters there are, the more it will show the English community wants to keep and be involved with school boards.

And as for anyone who might still be thinking about submitting their nomination papers for this year’s election before the end of the weekend, Tabachnick said they should really think about what being a school board commissioner is all about. “It’s an important job. It’s an exciting job. And it’s a lot of work. Prepare to do a lot of work,” he said. “It’s exceedingly rewarding, and not monetarily.”