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PAGE 12 â€" WA Fri., November 26 and Sat. November 27, 1982 "HOOKED ON OPERA" 8:00 p.m. Theatre Auditorium Admission: $4 Adults; $2 Students & Seniors _ Tickets at the door 355 Weber St. N. Waterioo 886â€"2231 Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of Music (an evening of excerpts) directed by David Falk eP Bs ‘ne e"~" * Sam:hy’smbefinsatO:.‘r&. vlthfl: an as -.mdmmn%t:’rm 1 Women and Pensions: Towards a Positive Future is the topic of a twoâ€"day seminar which § wiil be heid at the Rockway Gardens Senior 8 Citizen Centre Friday, Nov. 19 and Saturday, Nov. 20. Workshop highlights include, starting at 7:30 B p.m. on Friday, a lecture entitied What Elderly ~sp Women Live On and Why Changes are needed t&y Ken Battle executive director of the National &6 Council on Welfare and a discussion on Planning for Retirement by Corabel Penfold founder of § the Canadian Pensioners Concerned. _ _ . Women and Pensions topic of twoâ€"day Rockway event Once a month, usually on the third Thursday, there is a Regular School Board meeting. At that meeting, the minutes of all Committees of the Whole; the minutes of the previous month‘s Regular Board Meeting; minutes of all Board committees; plus Personneil matters; plus Of course, a good trustee will have done homework. The homework can range from meeting with individuals or groups (parents, principals, teachers, administrators) to walkâ€" ing through specific urban or rural areas; to researching at the School Board‘s resource centre or in libraries; to phone calls to other trustee groups, ministry officials; or simply talking to persons one trusts. In a speech to new trustees, the thenâ€"chairâ€" man of the Ottawa Board â€" a trustee whom 1 admire for courage, energy, and commitment â€" warned us that our major task was to gain credibility. And to gain that credibility took work â€" three to 10 hours for every one hour of actual meeting time. After years of trusteeâ€" ship, I still believe her. So once a week, Committee of the Whole, minimum time: three times three hours = nine. That‘s easy. . Answer No. 3 â€" Regualar School Board Meeting The minimum a trustee would probably do is attend the weekly Thursday night meeting called ‘"Committee of the Whole.‘" The meeting usually lasts three hours and is reasonably relaxed, informationâ€"giving, opinionâ€"trading, and tentatively decisionâ€"making. The public may attend and the Board welcomes obâ€" servers. 4. Wishyâ€"washy â€" A trustee who tries to be all things to all people; commonly has_ no comment on major issues. Once that decision is made, the trustee is ready to attend meetings. Answer No. 2 â€" Committee of the Whole 2. Facilitator/mediator â€" A trustee who sees things as potentially conflictâ€"producing; atâ€" tempts to help two sides achieve an acceptable compromise. An important decision the trustee must make is what kind of trustee she/he will be. There are three or four basic kinds: 1. Community advocate â€" a trustee who is the channel for his/her community at the Board tabie; attends numerous community funcâ€" tions. 3. Independent â€" A trustee who is somewhat aloof; answers to her/his conscience. There is no clearlyâ€"defined constituency to represent. Except in Toronto, few trustees are encouraged or supported by political parties. So does a trustee represent children? teachâ€" ers? taxpayers? Well, some taxpayers vote for trustees ... but teachers are concerned about education and they certainly contribute taxes ... Does a trustee represent community groups? business concerns? specific education needs? And finally, whose advice does a trustee heed? the senior citizens‘ group? the teachers‘ federations? the senior administraâ€" tors? Education is everybody‘s business! So what does a trustee do? Answer No. 1 â€" Decision time Very little attention has been paid to trustees. Very little is written about trusteeâ€" ship, so you cannot study how to be one. This is the first of a series of rotating delegations; plus reports from staff, officials, columuns featuring trustees of the Waterioo and trustees; plus questions; plus future County Board of Education and Waterioo agenda items are covered. This meeting looks County Separate School Board. boring. But a lot is going on. At the Regular * s e Board meeting, decisions become policy . The Question Previous decisions made by a committee or a What do you do? (Translation: What does a committee of the whole, recommendations trustee do?) That question is probably asked of made by officials or trustees can be modified me as often as any other. So you run for or overturned at the meeting. And, by the way, election. Then what? where did all those committee reports come Very little attention has been paid to from, anyway? trustees. Very little is written about trusteeâ€" Answer No. 4 â€" Committee work What do you do? (Translation: What does a trustee do? ) That question is probably asked of me as often as any other. So you run for election. Then what? School views LYNNE WOOLSTENCROFT adequate pensions for women can be achieved, featuring Louise Dulude, author of Women and Ag‘ll:ig and Pension Reform With Women in Mind. The afternoon program includes two, twoâ€"hour discussion groups on such topics as reform of private and governmient pension plans, equality between the spouses; widows and divorcees, how to assess your retirement income and action that can be undertaken to achieve suitable reform. Fee for the workshop is $5, $2 for students and _ | seniors. Registration~ is limited. For more . | information call the Community Information Centre at 579â€"3800. nc x ns t One of my onâ€"going commitments has been to improve communications between the Board and the community. I wish to thank Rick Campbell, the editor of the Chronicle, for making this space available. 1 welcome your comments and concerns. l encourage you to become involved. What you stand to gain is a real education‘ Of particular interest to Waterioo residents: Report from the Alexandra School Accomâ€" modation Review Committee to the Committee of the Whole, Thursday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m. at the Education Centre on Ardelt Avenue. The general public is welcome. Trusteeship is a diverse, exciting, stimulatâ€" ing, worthwhile job. There are so many variables to take into comsideration â€" and all of them lead directly into classrooms. Therefore, every decision feels important. And, of course, there are other tasks the good trustee looks forward to: school visits, comâ€" munity discussions, meetings with Ministry personnel and other politicians. _ In all, an active trustee, doing a conscienâ€" tious job averages 15 to 35 hours per week, according to a recent study. j Trustees on the Waterloo County Board of Education directly negotiate all contracts with both our academic (teaching) staff and our nonâ€"academic (custodial, maintenance, secreâ€" tarial) staff. No hired guns for us! The committees I sit on (seven plus chairing two plus two provincial committees) range from salary negotiations to the Task Force on Equal Opportunity. Through committee work, trustees come faceâ€"toâ€"face with classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, parents, other community "advisors," and administraâ€" Committee work is tremendously interestâ€" ing. (And again, most committee meetings last three hours â€" with the exception of Salary Negotiations which can become marathons of endurance.) All committees require homeâ€" work. * Answer No. 5 â€" School and Community Involvements . Waterloo trustees are all active members of School Accommodation Review Committees. (I am on Alexandra and Bridgeportâ€"Lexingâ€" ton.) These committees require discussions with otherâ€"level politicians â€" like mayors, aldermen, and regional councillors â€" and staff â€" like planners. One must also actively seek opinions from resident associations and parents. Most trustees are members of at least three committees. Those committees can be Standâ€" ing (Finance, Programme, Facilities); Legisâ€" lated (French Language Advisory, Trainable Mentally Retarded); longâ€"time commitments (Conditions of Work, Salary Negotiations); ad hoc (Preâ€"employment, Preâ€"apprenticeship); or special Task Forces. They can also be formed by associations to which the Board belongs or as requested by the Minister of Education. All of the Waterloo trustees are members of more than three committees.