Different Looking Ballot For School Board Trustee

Sep 24, 2018 | 5:01 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Election Day is nearly three weeks away and voters may find themselves looking at a slightly different ballot for the School Board Trustee pick. The Board of Education will be electing Trustees under a new ward system for the first time. Regional representation will be broken up into three Trustee Electoral Areas: Mackenzie Trustee Electoral Area 2, Prince George Trustee Electoral Area 1 and Robson Valley Electoral Area 3. With the new system, one Trustee will be elected for Robson Valley, one for Mackenzie who’s already been elected by acclamation, and five for Prince George. The Electoral Area 1 is made up of the City of Prince George and areas outside of the City’s boundaries. On the ballot in the Prince George Trustee Electoral Area, there will be a list of the candidates and the voter will select five. For those in the Robson Valley Trustee Electoral Area, they will select one. Voters within city limits will be able to vote at the City voting locations. For voters outside city limits, they will be able to vote at the Regional District voting locations. 

Trish Perrin, Vice-Chair of School District 57 says there has been some concern since people in rural areas didn’t realize they won’t have a vote for the Prince George picks. Perrin adds that the board has received several phone calls about it. She also notes that the current school board was not in favour of the decision to switch to a ward system, but rather the vote at large was in the best interest of the board. The ward system was originally proposed by the former mayor of Mackenzie in 2016 and was officially put in place by the Province in April of this year.

Once the Trustees are elected under the new Electoral Areas, it’ll be easier for those to participate in meetings that are held in Prince George through upgraded teleconferencing and other support. Perrin notes that it wasn’t going to be realistic to have those coming from the rural areas to Prince George if there was extreme weather or other obstacles. So by making it easier to be part of the discussion, the Board wanted to make sure it wouldn’t stifle anybody running in those areas. The elected Trustees will, of course, be responsible for their wards, but with the five in the Prince George Electoral Area, Perrin hopes that they will travel to the other communities to see what they’re doing there as well. 

The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George has plenty of information to clarify the new ward system for the school board on their website. You can also call the regional district’s office at 250-960-4400.