Anne Marie Watson enters Catholic School trustee race

Watson Ready to Run for Catholic School Board in Red Deer
Librarian, mother, life-long Red Deer resident ready to work for strong Catholic schools

RED DEER – Anne Marie Watson is a Catholic community leader who is ready to lead in a new role.

The life-long Red Deer resident announced her candidacy for Trustee of Red Deer’s Catholic School Board today with a website launch and a promise to be a strong voice for children, families, and the community.

“Catholic education is an important part of our past – but an even more important part of our future,” she said. “I will work hard to ensure stable funding for our Catholic Schools, and quality education for our kids.”

Watson is the Marketing and Events Coordinator at Red Deer College (RDC) Library. She also serves as Chair of the Sacred Heart Parish Council, a member of the RDC United Way Campaign Team, and is a regular volunteer with the Festival of Trees. Watson spent eight years as a board member with the Central Alberta AIDS Network Society (CAANS), including two years as Chair. She ran in the 2008 by-election for the Trustee role, and was narrowly defeated.

Watson’s chief concern is the continued success of the publicly-funded Catholic School system.

“Catholic schools provide a holistic approach to education. As a graduate of the Red Deer Catholic system, I know that they concern themselves with the mental, physical, social, and spiritual well-being of students,” she said. “The Catholic system reinforces the faith-based values that children learn at home, and that is an essential option for many families, both Catholic and non-Catholic.”

Issues such as core educational funding in the classroom, and the need to fundraise for “extras” such as educational field trips, are also important for a Catholic School Board Trustee to address, she added.

“While I recognize the importance of working with our provincial government, I also feel that they need to understand that proper levels of stable funding for our classrooms needs to be addressed,” Watson said.