The group also presented some guidelines, including looking at candidates whose “conviction (is) that the students' spiritual and secular needs should always be given primary place when making decisions at the board table. Other qualities are candidates who are responsible and accountable in the use of public funds and mindful “of the fact that the board is mandated to balance the yearly budget,” all the while exhibiting integrity, transparency, respect for others and support for ongoing Catholic formation of the educational community.

C.U.R.B. said it recently received hundreds of signatures for its pledge from Catholic ratepayers to vote.

The announcement follows on the heals of a Sept. 12 webcast and letter to parishioners by Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins that also encouraged Catholics to register as voters.

It's been a challenging two years for the Toronto Catholic board after being placed under provincial supervision for failing to balance its budget and amid a trustee spending scandal. This left trustees with no decision-making powers.

And during that time, two of its former chairs, Oliver Carroll and Angela Kennedy, were removed from the board after being found guilty of conflict-of-interest charges for voting against staff layoffs which could have affected their children's employment with the board. A third trustee, Barbara Poplawski, is currently facing similar charges.

In other news, Toronto's Catholic Parent Involvement Committee and Catholic School Advisory Councils in the city have organized all candidates meetings for the 12 Toronto wards, starting on Oct. 5. For a list of meetings, see www.tcdsb.org/trustees/2010election.htm.