Rod Ross - 29 years and still excited about World Class Education...!
Langley Board of Education is in an enviable position as compared to many other school districts. During my term the Board has seen many improvements. Among those improvements are the;
That being said it looks as though we are in a very good space. This is the truth. The Board is functioning well. The District is healthy financially, its leadership is passionate and committed to excellence and it has a new vision to be an "innovative, inspiring and unified learning community."
Why am I running for another term?
Growing District Needs New Schools...This is what keeps me awake at night!
What?
I am concerned about our future. I can see a future need for facilities in particular in the Willoughby area where growth is going through the roof. This is of paramount concern for us and one that will command much of the new Board's attention. Where we have set the task for our teachers to create an environment where "learners are knowledgeable, skilled and innovative"...we will have to model this at the Board table even more so. It is time for us to look for innovative ways to design, build and fund our buildings. The current paradigm of the government funding our every building need must be challenged. This paragraph was written for the last campaign and it is even more critical.
So what?
To give you context to better understand the challenge...consider this. Our student catchment data tells us that for every 100 condo units we will receive 2 students on average. With that information now consider the fact that since that last election housing prices have gone through the roof and the possibility of buying a detached home or a townhouse may be out of reach for your growing family needs. What do you do? You buy what you can afford and if you have to put bunk beds in your condo...you do it. This "tsunami" is quietly racing towards shore and we have to create multiple plans / options to weather the storm. It is coming folks. Nobody likes to talk about catchment changes, schools on 'shift', entire schools embracing on-line learning, building three floor elementary schools, but we ignore it all at our own peril. Add to it that our provincial governments own finances are struggling under the expense of Covid and last years dramatic floods and storms. Add to it inflationary building costs, land costs at over $3M and acre, the lengthy building time of 2/3 years needed to build a school---and you have the makings of a perfect storm.
Now what?
This is likely the most difficult term in my trustee service career. It is time for NEW THINKING like never before. Very difficult decisions will have to be made. It will not be good enough to blame government we will have to do whatever we have to do to weather the storm. We need all brains in the game. Ideas need to come from all employees and community members. Years ago when we were contemplating what to do with Mountain Secondary---it was a custodian that started us with the new thinking for making the current building a middle school and building a new high school beside it...which is exactly what we did. Thanks to our custodian we have a world class school and middle school in partnership with the Langley Events Centre!
Entrepreneurial Thinking...Economic Warriors!
I have for a long time spoken of the lack of relationship with post secondary. Our economy needs to cut out waste and move forward with strong willing partners that see it as critical that our economy innovates and creates economic well-being for all. I want to see Langley be a K to B.A. school district. We cannot afford to lose the ideas and dreams of all our students. We need to create jobs and the school district can play a key role along with TWU and KPU by working together to create seamless learning opportunities for all our students. Hackathons play a role in solving real world problems while bringing the best minds and "fresh eyes" together. Langley must see itself as a world class problem solver / economic incubator.
Student and Community Safety
Earthquake Preparedness.
Langley Schools have appropriate emergency preparedness protocols in place and yet they have not been tested. I am concerned that we are ill-prepared for the "Big One". My belief is that schools will be expected to support the broader community that it lives within. Therefore our level of preparedness needs to be elevated to go beyond our school walls.
At present we have initiated a district committee. This committee has made improvements and I am proud to say we have an emergency kit in every classroom in the district. This important work must continue and expand.
Cyber Security Risk.
Warren Buffett says, “We have a pretty good idea of the probabilities of a quake in California or the probability of a 3 or 4 hurricane hitting Florida or wherever it may be. But we don’t know what we’re doing in cyber. I think anybody who tells you now that they think they know in some actuarial way what the general experience is likely to be in the future or what the worst case would be, is getting ahead of themselves, and that’s one of the reasons I say a $400 billion event has a roughly 2% probability per year of happening. Cyber is unchartered territory and it’s going to get worse not better.”
I regularly ask for updates on our cyber-security status in our audit/finance committee. As the world struggles through this we need to ensure the safety of our computer information systems to protect sensitive personal information.
We are all in this together!
I have always used this tagline in all my campaigns...it is still foundational for me in everything I do. Langley Schools and community is a great place to learn, work and live but we must never forget that it is a team we play on and no one succeeds when someone loses. Life is not meant to be a zero-sum game. We must ensure that every student is successful...our society cannot afford to to lose even one. It may seem quaint...but I do believe...we can do great things together!
- Opening New R.E. Mountain Secondary School.
- Hiring of our passionate new Superintendent Mr. Mal Gill
- Continued Implementation of our Mission and Vision Statements.
- Supported and champion of the Langley School District Foundation with over $3.7 million in bank and flow through funding of $10-12 million since the we started it 15 years ago.
- Financial house is in order. Continually live within our means. Prudent leadership of Sec. Treas. Brian Iseli & team.
- Audit Committee meetings strengthen our financial accountability.
- Rainy day fund of $3M to fund uncontrollable emergent issues
- Relationships with all out Stakeholder groups (LTA, CUPE, LPVPA, DPAC and Excluded Staff), MLA's and Liaison with Township and City of Langley and Ministry of Education.
- I.D.E.A. Summit. IDEA-X. Student showcase for entrepreneurial ventures and social enterprises.
- Strengthened our International Program which expanded its revenues to $13 million. This extra revenue allows us to support technology in our schools.
That being said it looks as though we are in a very good space. This is the truth. The Board is functioning well. The District is healthy financially, its leadership is passionate and committed to excellence and it has a new vision to be an "innovative, inspiring and unified learning community."
Why am I running for another term?
Growing District Needs New Schools...This is what keeps me awake at night!
What?
I am concerned about our future. I can see a future need for facilities in particular in the Willoughby area where growth is going through the roof. This is of paramount concern for us and one that will command much of the new Board's attention. Where we have set the task for our teachers to create an environment where "learners are knowledgeable, skilled and innovative"...we will have to model this at the Board table even more so. It is time for us to look for innovative ways to design, build and fund our buildings. The current paradigm of the government funding our every building need must be challenged. This paragraph was written for the last campaign and it is even more critical.
So what?
To give you context to better understand the challenge...consider this. Our student catchment data tells us that for every 100 condo units we will receive 2 students on average. With that information now consider the fact that since that last election housing prices have gone through the roof and the possibility of buying a detached home or a townhouse may be out of reach for your growing family needs. What do you do? You buy what you can afford and if you have to put bunk beds in your condo...you do it. This "tsunami" is quietly racing towards shore and we have to create multiple plans / options to weather the storm. It is coming folks. Nobody likes to talk about catchment changes, schools on 'shift', entire schools embracing on-line learning, building three floor elementary schools, but we ignore it all at our own peril. Add to it that our provincial governments own finances are struggling under the expense of Covid and last years dramatic floods and storms. Add to it inflationary building costs, land costs at over $3M and acre, the lengthy building time of 2/3 years needed to build a school---and you have the makings of a perfect storm.
Now what?
This is likely the most difficult term in my trustee service career. It is time for NEW THINKING like never before. Very difficult decisions will have to be made. It will not be good enough to blame government we will have to do whatever we have to do to weather the storm. We need all brains in the game. Ideas need to come from all employees and community members. Years ago when we were contemplating what to do with Mountain Secondary---it was a custodian that started us with the new thinking for making the current building a middle school and building a new high school beside it...which is exactly what we did. Thanks to our custodian we have a world class school and middle school in partnership with the Langley Events Centre!
Entrepreneurial Thinking...Economic Warriors!
I have for a long time spoken of the lack of relationship with post secondary. Our economy needs to cut out waste and move forward with strong willing partners that see it as critical that our economy innovates and creates economic well-being for all. I want to see Langley be a K to B.A. school district. We cannot afford to lose the ideas and dreams of all our students. We need to create jobs and the school district can play a key role along with TWU and KPU by working together to create seamless learning opportunities for all our students. Hackathons play a role in solving real world problems while bringing the best minds and "fresh eyes" together. Langley must see itself as a world class problem solver / economic incubator.
Student and Community Safety
Earthquake Preparedness.
Langley Schools have appropriate emergency preparedness protocols in place and yet they have not been tested. I am concerned that we are ill-prepared for the "Big One". My belief is that schools will be expected to support the broader community that it lives within. Therefore our level of preparedness needs to be elevated to go beyond our school walls.
At present we have initiated a district committee. This committee has made improvements and I am proud to say we have an emergency kit in every classroom in the district. This important work must continue and expand.
Cyber Security Risk.
Warren Buffett says, “We have a pretty good idea of the probabilities of a quake in California or the probability of a 3 or 4 hurricane hitting Florida or wherever it may be. But we don’t know what we’re doing in cyber. I think anybody who tells you now that they think they know in some actuarial way what the general experience is likely to be in the future or what the worst case would be, is getting ahead of themselves, and that’s one of the reasons I say a $400 billion event has a roughly 2% probability per year of happening. Cyber is unchartered territory and it’s going to get worse not better.”
I regularly ask for updates on our cyber-security status in our audit/finance committee. As the world struggles through this we need to ensure the safety of our computer information systems to protect sensitive personal information.
We are all in this together!
I have always used this tagline in all my campaigns...it is still foundational for me in everything I do. Langley Schools and community is a great place to learn, work and live but we must never forget that it is a team we play on and no one succeeds when someone loses. Life is not meant to be a zero-sum game. We must ensure that every student is successful...our society cannot afford to to lose even one. It may seem quaint...but I do believe...we can do great things together!
