Zale Newman - School Trustee

School Trustee

Newman ran for election to the North York Board of Education in the 1978 and 1980 municipal elections. He called for a "back to basics" approach to education in the latter campaign along with a tougher approach to drugs and vandalism, and was endorsed by the North York branch of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation. He lost both times to Frances Chapkin.

He was elected on his third attempt in 1982, and re-elected in 1985. Newman served on a special board committee on drug and alcohol abuse, and was a vocal promoter of The Open Flame, a thirty-minute production on drug use written by Toronto-area students. He also supported free breakfasts for low-income students.

In May 1988, Newman brought forward a motion which would have permitted trustees to reassign teachers with AIDS out of classroom situations. He argued that these teachers should be reassigned to comparable jobs out of the classroom, rather than provoking what he described as "a moral issue with parents". The motion was rejected. Newman did not seek re-election in the 1988 municipal election.