Crowe begins new term as chair of York Catholic School Board

December 10, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons
King’s Elizabeth Crowe will continue to lead the York Catholic District School Board.
Crowe was acclaimed as chair at the board’s inaugural meeting Dec. 2.
Crowe was re-elected trustee for Aurora-King-Whitchurch-Stouffville in the municipal election.
She has served as board chair for the past 16 years.
As far as priorities are concerned, the board will be approving Action Plans for the new Strategic Plan in the new year and will also be approving a new Long Term Accommodation Plan this spring.
She said staff is working on developing a comprehensive IT strategy that will include, hardware, software, upgrades to WAN and LAN, and teacher training in using new technologies as effective tools in the classroom.
Marlene Mogado, Trustee for Markham Area 2, Wards 4, 5, 7, 8 was named vice-chair.
The unanimous decision is a testament to the board of trustees’ unified vision for Catholic education in York Region.
Dominic Mazzotta, Trustee for Richmond Hill, nominated Crowe.
“In her 20 years as trustee, and 16 years as chair, Trustee Crowe has a proven record of service.
She has worked diligently and served on many board committees. Trustee Crowe is committed to working tirelessly to enrich our Catholic education system and to improving programs that address the needs of all of our learners.”
At the inaugural, Crowe said there is “a new-found excitement, a renewed commitment to four years of working together towards a common vision, that of implementing 21st century teaching strategies that will address the unique needs and talents of all students so that our graduates become creative and critical thinkers who integrate Catholic values into their daily lives, as socially responsible global citizens.”
She said in the coming four years, the board will face the prospect of addressing a surplus of unfunded pupil places in the elementary panel, negotiating contracts in a new labour environment, and ultimately striving to meet the complex needs of all students in a budgetary “paradigm that leaves little room for flexibility.
“At the same time, we will continue to face challenges in the public domain that will threaten the very existence of our Catholic system. I have no doubt that we will remain strong, as one board, united in our vocation as Catholic school trustees, making hard decisions when necessary so as to achieve the goals we set forth in our Strategic Plan. By being effective guardians of the public purse as well as strong champions of the prodigious learning happening in our Catholic schools, we will prove to all that there is an intrinsic public value to having Catholic school boards in today’s quickly changing materialistic society.”
In her address, Crowe thanked trustees for their continuous support.
Mogado, who has served on the board since 2006, said she looks forward to working with her fellow trustees and staff to ensure a successful year. “After eight years of hard work, it is humbling for me to be vice-chair of the York Catholic District School Board, and to be entrusted with this responsibility,” said Trustee Mogado.
All trustees were sworn in as they took the Oath of Allegiance and reaffirmed the York Catholic District School Board’s Trustee Code of Ethics. His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins was appointed as Honorary Chair of the board for the four-year term, and His Excellency, Bishop Wayne Kirkpatrick was appointed as the board’s Honorary Trustee.
The York Catholic District School Board is made up of 10 elected trustees, and two non-voting student trustees. The role of the trustee is to provide effective and accountable use of the board’s fiscal resources and to develop, maintain, monitor and evaluate policies and organizational structures that support and promote the board’s goals of quality learning by all students.
The York Catholic District School Board delivers educational programming to over 55,000 students in 104 schools throughout the Regional Municipality of York. For more information visit www.ycdsb.ca or follow us on Twitter @YCDSB.