Tara Barton-Maclaren, a candidate for the Ward 10 (Prescott-Russell) trustee position on the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB), says her priorities include ensuring rural students have equitable access to educational opportunities, strengthening programming, and ensuring local families’ concerns are heard at the board table.

Barton-Maclaren is a UCDSB graduate who attended Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute (VCI). She is also the parent of three children who have attended UCDSB schools, with one still in the system, and has served as chair of the VCI School Council for the past three years.

On rural education, Barton-Maclaren said equity does not necessarily mean identical programming at every school. Instead, she wants to examine whether geography is creating barriers to opportunities available to students in larger communities. She specifically pointed to access to university-stream mathematics and science courses as an issue she has seen affect students’ post-secondary pathways.

If elected, she said she would examine board data on course availability, programming, and student outcomes, and consider solutions involving technology, partnerships, and resource allocation.

Barton-Maclaren said transportation is another concern for rural families. She would scrutinize transportation proposals based on their impact on rural students, including ride times, safety, accessibility, reliability, and walking distances to bus stops.

At VCI, Barton-Maclaren said she would like to build on existing strengths in agriculture, arts and culture, health and wellness, athletics, and experiential learning. She also identified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), skilled trades, mentorship, and partnerships with post-secondary institutions and local employers as areas where opportunities could be expanded.

Barton-Maclaren said special education is becoming increasingly complex, and she would not presume to know where gaps exist without hearing from students, families, and educators. She said she would work with the UCDSB’s Special Education Advisory Committee to examine whether students in the Champlain area have timely and equitable access to specialized supports.

Staff recruitment and retention are also concerns she identified, particularly in rural schools. Barton-Maclaren said the board needs to examine its hiring processes, mentorship, professional development, workplace conditions, and potential partnerships with faculties of education to address staffing shortages and gaps in subject expertise.

Barton-Maclaren said an effective trustee needs to be accessible while also being prepared to make independent decisions at the board table. She said she would regularly listen to students, families, educators, and residents in Vankleek Hill, L’Orignal, and surrounding communities.

She also pointed to the UCDSB’s Student and Family Support Office, launched in September 2026, as a resource intended to provide families with a clearer process for addressing concerns.

Asked what specific investment or change she would pursue during her first year, Barton-Maclaren did not identify a specific program or initiative. Instead, she said her priority would be identifying where geography or resource allocation limits access to programs, pathways, or specialized supports, and advocating for changes based on the evidence.

“I don’t want to predetermine the solution before understanding where the greatest need and opportunity exist,” she said.

Barton-Maclaren said her approach would draw on her experience as a scientist, public-sector leader, parent, and community volunteer, with a focus on what she described as “continuous improvement” for students across Ward 10.