Karen McGregor

Oct 09, 2014

Trustee

Karen McGregor – A career tied to education

In her day-to-day job Karen McGregor deals with a substantial number of recent graduates of the Limestone District School Board.

As the coordinator of the St. Lawrence College Employment Centre in Sharbot Lake she regularly sees students after they have left Granite Ridge Education Centre.

"I see first hand the barriers that go up for students who don't complete their OSSD or they have their diploma but lack employability skills. It makes it that much more difficult for us to help them find employment," she said. “I understand the need for solid foundation skills that will springboard students successfully from high school to employment or further education.”

Before taking a job at the employment centre when it opened, McGregor was an educator herself.

She started off as a supply teacher at Sharbot Lake High School back when it was under the Frontenac Board of Education and ended up working in Special Education and Adult Education within the board and for other school boards.

She also has three children, who all went through the school system in Sharbot Lake, where she lives.

"I have seen the system from a number of angles, and I know what the rural realities are," she said. "One of my pet peeves is finding that a student is not able to take a basic chemistry or biology course in their own school because of the numbers of students. There must be a way to deliver that course without sending the student to another school. The technology exists, and with support they should be able to stay in their own school for something as basic as that."

She feels that rural schools also need to do some outreach to the local community.

"Sharbot Lake High School was known to the community; community events took place there all the time, but most people have never been into Granite Ridge since it opened. I would like the school to re-establish the community uses that the old school provided, so it takes a more central role than it has so far," she said.

She does not intend to be a divisive force as a trustee but she will ask a lot of questions on behalf of the students and their families.

"I'm not going to pretend that I know everything. I'm a ‘why’ person, I need to know what is happening, and why things are done the way they are done. And I know the parents and the students have a lot of questions, and they expect answers."

She said there were heated discussions over the name of Granite Ridge Education Centre and many people she talked to felt that their voices were not heard at the board level.

"That is now in the past, but it was a lost opportunity and puts pressure on the school and the board to demonstrate they are in tune with community needs and desires."

One of the issues that she feels strongly about is the threat to the independent bus operators that is posed by a new procurement process, which several courts have confirmed is discriminatory against locally owned bus operators.

"The Limestone Board is a 1/3 partner in the Tri-board Transportation Service, and as such the board needs to intervene on behalf of the local operators who have done a good job at a reasonable price for so many years. This community needs to support its local businesses and the students by pressuring Tri-board to back off on the procurement process and bring stability to those local operators and the students. I would fight for that."