WEBSITE: www.voteforsam.ca

EMAIL: sam@voteforsam.ca

PHONE: 416-904-9990

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1. Why are you the best candidate for trustee?
I am a parent, former educator and a business person with roots and family in Scarborough-Agincourt, so I have a vested interest in our neighbourhood public schools. My service in the community has brought me into close contact and cooperation with the diverse organizations and cultures that make up our Ward. As an outspoken advocate for public education I believe that these considerations, along with my practical leadership skills and real-world business experience make me the best candidate to responsibly oversee -and to effectively advocate on behalf of- our community schools.

2. What changes would you like to see at the school board in the next four years?
I would like the Board to freeze school closures and to sell off the TDSB building at 5050 Yonge Street, along with the adjoining Square which belongs to the Board and is the very definition of a “surplus space”. I would also like to put a stop to the inexcusable deferral of maintenance that has been the short-term fix for the Board’s budget balancing act for over a decade. In addition, I would like to see a more transparent and public-friendly ethos at the Board which will welcome and seek wider community involvement/input in our public education system.

3. What is your position on the TDSB consolidating under-enrolled schools and selling off closed school properties?
I am against the selling of public school properties. These properties are taxpayer investments that were handed down to us and it is our responsibility to pass them on in good order for future community use. I am for considering other options, such as long-term lease deals and more effective utilization of our schools, such as the community hub model. Note: I am firmly against the sale of public school properties to other public agencies because the public/taxpayers (you and I) already own them, and such proposals mean the taxpayers would effectively be paying twice for the same properties. Unacceptable.

4. Do you support the province’s decision to try to negotiate two-year, no wage increase contracts with the school board’s unionized employees when existing agreements expire?
Frankly, I would prefer to see negotiations take place at a more local level and in a more transparent fashion than has previously been the case. That said, as a taxpayer I expect that both the province and the school unions acknowledge the difficult economic situation we find ourselves in at present, and that they work on a deal which will not negatively impact our students or their families.

5. Please provide personal details on your bio.
I have taught after school computer programs in an Elementary School for the TDSB, as well as High School Equivalency for international students. Self-employed as an IT Specialist since 1996, I am the founder of an Information Technology company that currently services over 250 clients in the public and private sectors. Since 2004 I have been working as Special Assistant to Jim Karygiannis M.P. for Scarborough-Agincourt. I am a devoted husband and the loving father of a young child. I was born, raised and educated in Toronto (East York), and I am a lifelong resident of our great city.