Windsor school board trustee says recent education cuts had 'very little' to do with resigning

Midway through her second term as a public school board trustee in Windsor-Essex, Sarah Cipkar is resigning for what she calls mainly "personal and professional" reasons.

She was first elected in 2018 while in her late 20s.

Cipkar represented Wards 3, 4 and 10 — alongside fellow trustee Christie Nelson — with the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB).

Her resignation was tendered at last week's board meeting, amidst big budget cuts — and public outcry — to try to balance the books of a $6.4 million deficit. It also comes on the heels of the board scrapping speaker lists at board meetings, and community tension surrounding gender identity issues, as well as the naming of a Kingsville school.

"I was just finding it really difficult to be able to have the capacity to be the advocate that I think our community needed for public education," she said.

"I think it's time for me to step aside and allow someone else to fill that role."

According to Cipkar, issues such as the recent special education cuts didn't have a lot to do with her decision.

"I would say very little. I'm not a person that shies away from … conflict or advocacy. I really feel proud to advocate for a community, particularly around our most vulnerable and marginalized students."

Cipkar started a business in the housing sector last year, helping people build backyard homes — and says it unexpectedly "exploded" because of the country's housing crunch, with big demand and policy changes.

Sarah Cipkar was a public school board trustee in Windsor-Essex from 2018 until last week when she resigned. (Amy Dodge/CBC)

"I really just felt like I had to almost pick a lane and just dedicate my time to making a change in that area."

The reality is, she says, is that school boards are creatures of the province and can't rely on things such as tax levies to get out of the red.

"We get all of our funding from the province, full stop. We have to then be put in a position of making difficult decisions. I felt that the role of a trustee needs to be increasingly aware and advocating to the provincial body. That … was something I didn't feel like I had capacity for."

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Recent health challenges within her family, being a mom, and her new business "taking off" played big roles, she said.

"I'd been mulling it over for a while. There's just an emotional toll that being an elected official takes. You really carry the burdens of the community. Public education is in a difficult moment, and there's a lot of difficult decisions around our board table. I was just finding it increasingly difficult to kind of balance all that."

Cipkar says the current term's issues have paled in comparison to the number of high-stress, "tumultuous" communications she endured during her first term, which included the pandemic.

Gale Hatfield is the chairperson for the GECDSB. (Sanjay Maru/CBC)

The 2022 municipal election results for the city of Windsor ended with Cipkar gaining 36.4 per cent of the vote. Nelson finished with 27.59 per cent. Margaret Stanley failed to grab a seat, finishing in third place with 24.03 per cent.

The school board has yet to comment to CBC News about the resignation, or how it intends the fill the vacancy. Its options are a byelection or mid-term appointed replacement.