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Sep 20, 2026 at 6:05 pm
School Trustee 73 - TEA1
Darryl Schmidt asks:
Measuring success: At the end of your four-year term, what specific results should parents, students, and voters look at to determine whether you were successful as a school trustee?
Candidate Answers
I would measure success by whether I listened, advocated effectively, made responsible decisions and remained accountable to students, families, staff and the community.
I have advocated for the capital investments our communities need. We have areas in our district that are growing and schools that are under pressure, and I was part of the advocacy that led to the first new school announcement for our District since 2000.
The last four years brought significant financial pressures, changing enrolment, rising costs, staffing changes and an accounting error. As a trustee, I don’t balance the District’s budget, but I have a responsibility to make informed decisions and vote for fiscal responsibility, including making difficult decisions. I have been transparent about our financial realities and supported a long-term plan that provides greater stability.
Transparency with our community is also very important to me. I requested that letters to the Ministry and other partner groups be publicly posted so people could see what we were communicating and asking for on their behalf. Correspondence is now available on the SD73 website.
I have worked hard to maintain strong, respectful relationships with our employee groups through difficult conversations and significant staffing changes. I have also been accessible and responsive to the people I represent. I listen, respond and follow up.
I would measure success by how well I did with using my 34 years of educational background, sound data, and respecting input from our school communities to help make decisions.
I look forward to the challenges that lay ahead, if I am elected.
Rather than a 4 year end result, I want parents, students and community members to see results of my advocacy every month, with specific requests for data, reports on programs and services that show how are students are responding (outcomes), and for the board to discuss ways to improve both their learning environment and student wellness and safety. The specific questions that help tell a story about our students' learning and environment will be important to generate. Educators, as myself, have a set of skills and experiences that have not been represented at the board table in the last 2 elections; this perspective is necessary for a better understanding how board policy, and resource allocations affects the classroom.
