It was a nerve-wracking election night for the School District 57 trustee candidates, as unofficial election results continued to roll in well past midnight.
“I think all of the candidates were a little anxious for the results to come out,” says incumbent board chair Tim Bennett, who was re-elected with the most votes out of all candidates. “When the results did it was a really humbling experience to see the support Prince George and the community has in me to continue the work I started.”
The results show the new School District 57 board of trustees includes Bennett and incumbent Sharel Warrington, along with three new(ish) faces, with a total of five representing Prince George.
Ron Pollilo speaks during the Vanier Hall All Candidates Forum. (via Hanna Petersen).Two spots out of the seven total seats on the board are reserved for trustees elected in Mackenzie and the Robson Valley.
Shuirose Valimohamed was elected by acclamation in Mackenzie, and in a close race between the two Robson Valley candidates, Bob Thompson won over Harold Edwards by only 61 votes.
“We are going to have a relatively new board, five of seven brand new trustees,” says Bennett. “It’s going to be great to sit down with all of them and look at why they ran and what they hope to accomplish as well as the work currently in front of the district.”
Bennett added that he’s happy to have voices and representation from Mackenzie and the Robson Valley on the board so they can “come together as a group of seven and represent the entire district.”
First-time board trustee, Trent Derrick says he was happy and excited to see the results come in, but he’s looking forward to working on the challenges facing the district.
“I’d really like to move forward on working on the Truth and Reconciliation so we can get the graduation rate of Indigenous students up and also I think it’s important that we start working on implementing a food program throughout the school district because 20 per cent of the kids are under the poverty line and they can’t learn when they are hungry,” says Derrick.
Bekkering, who previously sat on the board and placed fifth in this election, says she is happy with the results and is excited to get back to work.
“I think throughout the campaign there were a lot of issues that came forward and I think that we are going to hit the ground running,” says Bekkering.
She said one of the big issues before the board is “getting people comfortable with SOGI,” or sexual orientation and gender identity curriculum and tackling bullying.
“When I was last on the board we thought developed some robust policies, and I think they are not working. I think we need to re-think our strategy on that,” says Bekkering. “I really hope in my four years that we can get a handle on this. It is do-able. We just have to get kids comfortable with reporting and I think they are not, especially with all of the bullying that happens online.”
The previous school board will hold their last meeting on Oct. 30 and the new board will be sworn in the following week on Nov. 6.
Bennett says there is a lot facing the district and public education in the next coming months. “I think if we can as a board, ensure that we are getting through that and supporting our students, our district, and our communities and making sure that school district 57 is a leader provincially we will have a really successful four years.”
