Yellowknifelife: How did you first come to be a member of the board?

Dan Schofield: I was appointed to the board in March of 1998 to replace Garry Black.

Yellowknifelife: Why did you choose to seek the board appointment?

DS: It's a good opportunity to contribute back to the community. There is nothing better to contribute to than education. I also had young people in the school system and the education field is an interesting field.

Yellowknifelife: How far along in the school system are your children.

DS: They are age nine, seven and 10 months, so Grade 4, 2 and pre, pre, pre-school.

Yellowknifelife: Following your appointment to the board how long after were you elected chair?

DS: I was elected chair in November of 1998 replacing Terry Brookes.

Yellowknifelife: Is this the first board you've served on?

DS: It was my first elected board. I've served on other territorial sport boards and national sport boards.

Yellowknifelife: As a new school board trustee were you surprised to be elected chair?

DS: I don't think I was surprised. I was certainly pleased with the confidence people showed in me.

Yellowknifelife: What were some of the first initiatives you worked on as chair?

DS: At that time there were two major projects. The first was the Sir John Franklin high school project that the board contributed $1.5 million towards. The other major one was implementing the Alberta Achievement Testing.

Yellowknifelife: Why do you feel Alberta Achievement Testing was an important initiative?

DS: I think it is important that the public and the parent and the teacher know exactly where their student or child is achieving. Over the last five years worth of trends our results have improved to the point that in some areas we are higher than Alberta.

Yellowknifelife: Do think the board's transparency has improved during your time as chair?

DS: I think the board has always been transparent. We've put in place a number of activities that make us more transparent. There is wide public consultation that occurs in our budget process, we developed a community liaison committee and we have a number of publications -- an annual report, district calendars and quarterly supplements in the newspaper. These are all initiatives that make us more transparent or more accessible.

Yellowknifelife: What have been the more notable accomplishments while you have served as chair.

DS: We've made a real investment in people. We've been able to protect the pupil to teacher ratio at 17-1. We've protected valuable positions such as librarians, administrators, secretaries, etc.

Yellowknifelife: Why is that so notable?

DS: Our budget is tight. We've been tackling the deficit, but not at the expense of people. We try to make sure our decisions are based on the best interest of students and that means keeping people in place that support students.

Yellowknifelife: What other initiatives have been implemented?

DS: We've invested in new support people and programs in the area of literacy and numeracy. We have a school improvement plan that allows our teachers to be better trained. We've been able to develop a variety of programming in all areas of arts, culture and French immersion.

Yellowknifelife: What have you gained personally from the experience of being the chairman?

DS: You grow as a person, you develop new skills, you have a deeper understanding of the word politic and you are able to see goals come to being. There is a lot of personal fulfilment.

Yellowknifelife: Are there any negatives?

DS: It takes you away from family is that is always a negative. Sometimes the constant criticism that is received and the matters can range from a small school ground incident to a budget matter. Another frustration would be things don't happen as fast as you would like. You can have goals that can take two to three years to come into being. It would be nice if the system would move faster.

Yellowknifelife: Why did you choose to step down as chairman?

DS: There was too much time away from my family, too away from work responsibilities and my other volunteer responsibilities. Five years is a long time, change is a good thing. We've put our finances in order, our capital projects are in order and our investment in school programs, I think, are good and creative. I felt the house was in order.

Yellowknifelife: In less than a year there will be another election, will you run again?

DS: I haven't made up my mind, but I am certainly considering it. There are certainly things I would like to see completed.

Yellowknifelife: What are some of those things?

DS: I would like to see increased site-based management meaning more decision making at the school level. Continue to tackle reducing class sizes, and implement and showcase arts and culture programs. I would also like us to be an little more entrepreneurial. I would like to see our school me more like American schools. I'd like to see private industry get involved in education. For example the sponsorship of computer labs. I think the private sector can be more involved.

Yellowknifelife: What about financially?

DS: I'd like to see us implement a better education plan that matches up against our fiscal plan.

The main inequity is we have more staff than we have money. So we're always taking from other pots of money to maintain our staffing level and that hurts. There are other initiatives we would like to invest in. We're always trying to protect our student-teacher ratios.

Yellowknifelife: Why would you recommend people run for a position on the board.

DS: I think it's important that everyone care about the schooling of children.

There a number of good things that occur in the school system that need to be supported and encouraged.