Late trustee’s son will fill one of two vacancies on Waterloo Region District School Board

The seats were left vacant following Fred Meissner’s death in May, and the resignation, for health reasons, of Marie Snyder.

Trustees voted by secret ballot after 19 applicants for the two positions each had an opportunity to make five-minute presentations. A second round of voting was required for each of the two seats when a winner couldn’t be declared on the first ballot.

The board previously rejected calls to appoint the next runners-up from the 2022 municipal election, or to hold a byelection that could have cost as much as $500,000.

Meissner and Estoesta were sworn in at the end of Wednesday’s meeting.

“Why I’m here is rather simple,” said Meissner, an instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University. “I’m here to finish what my father had started.”

Fred Meissner was first elected to the board last fall after serving as a teacher for 27 years at Elmira District Secondary School.

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• Dec 31, 1969
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• Dec 31, 1969
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“My father campaigned on a vision of caring and inclusive classrooms, to increase family and community collaboration, and to recognize staff and education workers as experts in the classroom.”

Estoesta said she will support initiatives that value student input, and she’d “prioritize the safety and sense of belonging for the student community, from the junior kindergarten students — like my child, who attends a WRDSB school — to our graduating high school students.”

Estoesta, a project manager and longtime equity, diversity and inclusion advocate, is certified as an inclusion professional by the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion.

In other board news, chair Joanne Weston is calling on the province to address millions of dollars in “critical” funding gaps.

In a letter to Education Minister Stephen Lecce, Weston says the board “was forced to make some very difficult decisions regarding staffing and resources for next school year” as it finalized its 2023-24 budget earlier this month.

In a budget that staff called a “significant challenge,” the board made about $6.4 million in cuts to staffing and spending on technology and other items in order to keep its deficit below a ministry-mandated $7.58 million.

In her letter, Weston identified a number of areas the board maintains are underfunded by the province, saying the education ministry has a “shared responsibility in terms of addressing these as we move forward.”

Weston said the board expects to find itself nearly $11 million short next year in funding to cover short-term sick leave for teachers and designated early childhood educators.

“While we appreciate that you have acknowledged the pressures associated with short-term sick leave, school boards have limited options to address this challenge since sick-time provisions are centrally negotiated,” Weston wrote.

The board says a new provincial model for funding student transportation doesn’t take into account increases tied to the consumer price index that are built into contracts with transportation providers.

The model also doesn’t recognize the use of minivans and taxis as funded modes of transportation, Weston said; they’re primarily used in Waterloo Region to transport students with exceptional needs.

These shortfalls have resulted in a transportation funding deficit that’s gone from about $1.49 million in 2022-23 to $2.92 million in 2023-24, the letter states.

Contract pricing for things such as paper towels and cleaning supplies is expected to rise about 15 per cent next year, while software licence renewals are expected to climb five to seven per cent; the board calls the province’s two per cent increase for school operations funding “insufficient.”

And Weston said increasing Canada Pension Plan contributions will cost the board about $1.26 million next year, with no evidence that ministry funding has risen in step.