BROCKVILLE – Upper Canada District School Board trustees recognized the life of former trustee William (Bill) MacPherson at their December 10 board meeting.
MacPherson served on the board from 2000 to 2022 in the Perth area, and was board vice-chair three times: 2003-4, 2010-11, and 2018-21. Out of office since 2022, MacPherson was recently interviewed by the board as one of the three short-listed candidates for the recent trustee vacancy in Ward 2 (Perth area).
Trustee John McAllister spoke about MacPherson during the meeting.
“Two words describe Bill: advocacy and passion.”
McAllister reflected on MacPherson’s advocacy for special education, and school bus safety. A farmer by vocation, MacPherson drove school buses for nearly 50 years in the Smiths Falls-Perth area.
“Safety was top of mind for Bill, and for over 10 years he was a passionate proponent for stop arm cameras on buses — knowing and experiencing first hand drivers disobeying the Ontario traffic code rules for stopping for the ‘big yellow taxis,’” said McAllister explaining MacPherson being a proponent of the “Let’s Remember Adam” campaign that began in Mattawa in 2004.
In December 2021, the board passed a motion by MacPherson calling on all four of the counties served by the UCDSB to require stop-arm cameras on all school buses. To date, only SDG Counties examined the issue in 2021-22 with a report returned to council. No further action has been taken since.
MacPherson died on November 22, he was 73 years old.
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