by Wendy Coomber
Gold Trail School District is welcoming the appointment of Mike Bernier, MLA for Peace River South to Cabinet as the new Education Minister.
Premier Christy Clark announced a small Cabinet shuffle on July 29 that made former Minister Peter Fassbender the Minister responsible for TransLink, and gave Bernier his first Cabinet assignment.
Board of Education co-chair Carmen Ranta said the Board’s first choice would have been the area’s own MLA Jackie Tegart because of her background on the school board, but that wasn’t to be this time.
“Minister Bernier seems to be a very caring person, coming from a rural community [Dawson Creek],” said Ranta. “We hope that will be reflected in his decision making.”
She said the Thompson Okanagan Branch of the BC School Trustees Association is holding a conference in Osoyoos this September and they’ve invited someone from the Ministry to attend. She says she hopes it will be the Minister himself.
Ranta said there is a lot of interest from the local board of education in speaking to the Minister. At the top of their list, they would like to discuss funding for capital projects and capital planning in the District. She said there are still projects Lillooet and Lytton that are on hold, waiting for money.
She said they have already invited the new Minister to come and visit the district to they can build a good relationship with him.
