A Meeting Wrap Up

Rory J. Koopmans, B.Admin., Ward A, Edmonton Public School Trustee Candidate, #203, 8912-156 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T5R 5Z2

May XXVIth, MMX

Hon. David G. Hancock, QC, MLA, Minister of Education, Progressive Conservative, Edmonton-Whitemud

Dear David:

I. I must say the piece on B1 & B4 in the May XXVth, MMX Edmonton Journal by Mrs. Sarah O'Donnell & media guru/programmer Mr. Mack Male was very informative. I had been wondering myself for years the exact demographic pattern of where kids live in Edmonton. But I would strongly criticize their exclusion of Charter students however, especially as there are Charter schools attached to Edmonton Public & Edmonton Catholic. Ie: Edmonton Public's Aurora School. That is in addition to the private ones. Also why is Mrs. O'Donnell & Mr. Male not including online students, paper correspondence students, special needs students and home schooled students. Plus you must consider as Trustee George Rice said in last night's Public School Board Meeting, there are Edmonton Public & Catholic students online throughout the Province. My credits in the end were from St. Gabriel Storefront Cybernetics School in St. Albert. But I have also taken Edmonton Public courses, why was I not included as say a home schooled student, a glaring set of errors, thus the demographic focus is quite off.

II. I believe it was quite magnanimous of me II offer my cat's services to Trustee Board Chairman Don Fleming when I got up to speak. He said he had to fix a mouse problem at a school. I offered up James Redwing Cat Koopmans's services IV free in order II keep school administration costs down. Provided my cat was allowed II keep any mice he caught as compensation.

III. I truly thank the Board IV allowing me II show off my incredible feat of having 200 High School credits, 2 Regular High School Diplomas. I also showed off my Athabasca University Bachelor of Administration Degree to add to the dramatics. Kept my oral presentation to under II minutes but had to of course pan all III items around the room IV maximum effect. I am so very proud of being "the best of the best" in Alberta. Everyone in the room could see that I believe in zero barriers to education!

IV. I really enjoyed the oral presentation on World Multiculturalism Day (June XXVIIth, MMX) by II sisters, their father & their teacher. The ladies were of Muslim faith & were here in Canada less than XIX months. There phonetic structure of sentences & pauses to emphasize punctuation & their points were amazing. They will be an amazing addition to Canada's rich cultural mosaic. Let me put it this way, these young ladies speak much better English then I do Arabic.

V. Trustee David Colburn has got II be my favourite Trustee. The enthusiasm he showed when talking about being at a World Aboriginal Day of Games in his Ward was very refreshing. You can truly see he takes pride in his aboriginal students & their family's. As well as children of other minority & disadvantaged groups.

VI. Thanks again II the board IV its discussion in terms of budgetary needs IV Edmonton Public for special needs students, the board is doing wonders especially when the Alberta Government is royally screwing them over & constantly shorting them on promised allotted educational dollars. It should be once gain pointed out that if Ed Stelmach & Dave Hancock gave 1/2 the taxing power back II Trustees and worked on educational concerns tangentially with them, they'd win what another IV or V terms of office as they'd lock in the educational & teachers union votes!

Forbearing,

Rory

Source: Edmonton Public Schools.