Three of the five current District 69 school board trustees say they will run again in the Nov. 15 election.
Julie Austin recently contacted The NEWS to confirm she will run again.
“I’ve given it a lot of thought and I feel this board still has a lot of important work to go forward with,” she recently told The NEWS. “This board has made a lot of big decisions, the restructuring being the biggest,” she said of the closure of four elementary schools over the summer.
Austin was elected as part of the Oceanside Communities for Quality Education (OCQE) group formed to fight the proposed closure of Kwalikum Secondary School in late 2010 and was often the only trustee to vote against various school closure motions this year, while the rest of the board the board cited dropping enrolment and funding.
Board chair Lynette Kershaw and trustee Ross Milligan, also OCQE members, previously announced they would not seek re-election.
The final OCQE member and one of four new trustees in 2011, Barry Kurland, will run again, as will four-term, former chair Eve Flynn. The board will host a drop-in information session on trustee roles and responsibilities tonight, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. in the Parksville Civic and Technology Centre forum, where board meetings are held.
