Northern B.C. now has a voice in the B.C. School Trustees Association boardroom.
School District 57 trustee Trish Bella beat out seven other candidates in a byelection held two weekends ago in Vancouver.
"It's something I was really very hopeful for," said Bella. "I really enjoy [BCSTA] provincial council and wanted some time under my belt with provincial council before I went after a position.
"I truly feel it brings maybe some more diversity there, because we haven't had anybody from north of Lillooet since [former District 57 school board chair] Bill Christie, about six years ago."
The purpose of the BCSTA is to advocate for trustees who form the province's 60 school boards and act as a liaison to communicate their needs and explain their issues directly to staff from the education ministry and partner groups. Bella is looking forward to working with the BCSTA board and delving into issues that affect school boards in other regions.
"Sometimes it's a good idea to go into a different area and see things from a different perspective," said Bella, now in her second term as a trustee. "Maybe I can take my experience from the North to a different branch and see what they have going with fresh eyes looking at things."
Bella is filling the position given up when BCSTA past-president Connie Denesiuk did not seek reelection in the November municipal election. The by-election required six ballots. Bella defeated Corky Neufeld of Abbotsford, 33-27 in the final ballot.
Bella currently serves as District 57 provincial council representative and vice-chair and is chair of the local district's education services committee. She is also the trustee representative on the provincial BC Teacher Supply and Demand Consortium.
The BCSTA board is elected every year. Bella will fill her role as director until April, when she plans to run for re-election at the annual general meeting.
District 57 chair Sharel Warrington says northern B.C. schools face problems with small populations, declining enrollments and faltering economies and says Bella's place on the board will help the BCSTA understand and address those issues.
"Having a northern voice is very important," said Warrington. "It's important to understand the complexity of the northern districts. We encompass the majority of territory in the province. We may not have the numbers of students, but we certainly have school districts spread over a vast area that have their own unique needs. So having someone speak to those needs is very important."
