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Heather Grieve

Candidate for School Trustee 73 - TEA1

I think transparency starts with being honest with the community about where the District is financially, including when the information is difficult.

The district has had some recent leadership changes, made staffing changes in response to financial pressures, and publicly reported a budget error. I think being open about these things is important to maintaining trust with our community.

As a trustee, my role is to ask questions, understand the information we are being provided, and make sure there is appropriate oversight of the District’s finances. That means understanding the impact of declining enrolment, provincial funding, increasing costs and staffing on our budget and the decisions we have to make.

I also think we need to continue looking at how we involve the community in the budget process. We are looking at different levels of budget consultation, and I think parents, staff and taxpayers should have an opportunity to understand the financial pressures we are facing and provide input.

Financial information can be complicated, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be understandable. People should be able to understand where our funding comes from, where it is being spent and why we are making difficult decisions.

Responsible financial management is about good oversight, transparency, accountability and making responsible decisions with public dollars. Sometimes that means making difficult or unpopular decisions, but the community should understand why those decisions are being made.