Let the door knocking, and tweeting, begin.
Candidates have been officially declared for the 2018 School District 27 Trustee General Election.
Two zones in the South Cariboo are set to be represented by candidates who will win by acclamation, while in the Williams Lake area two and even three candidates will square off in each zone come Election Day.
Current trustees Linda Martens and Willow MacDonald were the only candidates to let their names stand for Zone 1 (Bridge Lake, Forest Grove, Buffalo Creek, Horse Lake) and Zone 3 (district of 100 Mile House).
Zone 2 (108 Mile and Lac la Hache) has two candidates vying for the seat; Robyn Angus and Mary Forbes.
Zone 4 (150 Mile, Big Lake, Horsefly, Likely) also has two candidates to choose from; Karen Blanchard and Ciel Patenaude.
Zone 5 (Williams Lake Fringe) will see Jim Ritchie and current Cariboo Regional District director and candidate Angie Delainey face off at the polls.
Voters have three choices for Zone 6 (city of Williams Lake); Katie Blaxland, Chris Ford and Alexis Forseille.
Zone 7 (Chilcotin) will see current school board trustee Bruce Baptiste challenged by Anne Kohut.
Many candidates didn’t submit their nomination papers until the last few days of the two-week nomination period which ended Friday, Sept.14.
Read More: Election by acclamation possible for most School District 27 seats
Current trustees Sheila Boehm and board vice-chair Brice O’Neill are giving up their seats on the SD 27 board of trustees to make a run for city council and CRD director, while board chair Tanya Guenther said she is not seeking reelection to spend more time with her family.
Zone 4 (Horsefly) has been vacant since the abrupt resignation of incumbent Christine Dyment in January.
If the last two terms are any indication, the new school board will certainly have their work cut out for them.
In May the school board chair and superintendent were forced to respond to a ministry report released earlier this year outlining the stormy relationship between the board and the Cariboo Chilcotin Teacher’s Association (CCTA).
The report, penned by Dianne Turner, raised issues in the school district regarding governance, finance, budgeting, leadership, morale, culture and district communications. She also outlined the need to establish conditions for healthier relationships between SD 27 staff, the board, the Cariboo-Chilcotin Teachers Association and the Cariboo-Chilcotin Principals’ and Vice Principals’ Association.
Since the report was released Rob Fleming, Minister of Education, appointed Mike McKay as special advisor to the Cariboo-Chilcotin School District (SD 27) to help the district address its challenges, and “respond to the recommendations in Dianne Turner’s report to ensure student success in the community.”
Election Day is October 20, 2018.
The position of trustee is a four-year term.
Read More: School District 27 Board and management to respond to ministry report
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