Calgary education watchdog group falls silent

An education watchdog group that was highly critical of Calgary's public school board has gone silent.

The Association for Responsive Trusteeship in Calgary Schools (ARTICS) formed after the 2010 election.

The group was critical of the Calgary Board of Education, saying it lacked transparency and accountability, holding too many private meetings and allowing administration to make important decisions.

One of its key members, Trina Hurdman, was elected in the election last month.

Now the remaining members of ARTICS say theyre taking a breather and won't do interviews with CBC News.

Lori Williams, who teaches policy studies at Mount Royal University, said thats odd.

Well it's very puzzling, it's paradoxical. It seems to go against everything that they were fighting for or stood up for, not just during the election campaign but in the three years previous.

Williams said it remains to be seen how effective ARTICS has been.

Almost every candidate running for the school board put accountability and transparency very near the top of their list of priorities and objectives, she said.

So I suppose you could say they were part of that mix. Whether they were the primary driver of that or not I guess is an open question.

ARTICS said the group will have something to say about its future in the New Year.