School board trustee hopefuls get tips

Potential candidates for Calgary’s public school board got some tips Wednesday night on what it takes to be a trustee.   

The Calgary Board of Education information session was aimed at drumming up interest in this fall’s race, said chair Pat Cochrane.

"It's not been my experience that our races draw a lot of people to the ballot box but if we can talk as much as we can about the value and importance of public education hopefully we'll encourage more people to get engaged," she said. 

Former CBE trustee Gordon Dirks said a good trustee will work hard to learn about the system and its $1 billion-plus budget.

"You have to be a really good listener," he said.

"You're going to read a lot of documents, so you have to be a really good reader." 

Christina Steed, who is planning to run in Wards 12 and 14, said she wants to bring more openness to the board.

"The board needs to be responsive to the people that are electing them. They also need to deliver that transparency and accountability that I feel constituents are demanding these days," she said.

The municipal election is October 21.