St. Albert Protestant school board trustees will vote Wednesday to confirm the date for a byelection to fill the vacant chair left by the retirement of Morag Pansegrau.
The proposed day for the byelection will be Dec. 5. That means that nomination day will be Monday, Nov. 7.
“We don’t want to delay because to hold an election during Christmas would be very difficult. Also, once the person is elected, there is a delay before they start serving as trustee in case of recounts or other difficulties,” said board chair Joan Trettler.
The School Act requires having a full board membership of five people and the odd number makes the democratic process easier, Trettler explained.
“With four people, if you have a split vote, it’s very difficult,” she said.
The board appointed Tom Lysyk as the returning officer. Lysyk will be on hand Nov. 7 to receive the nomination papers.
“It is incumbent upon anyone wishing to run for the position of trustee to make sure they are eligible as candidates. And they need to have the signed support of five people who are residents of the district,” said Michael Brenneis, associate superintendent of finance for the Protestant School District.
There will likely be only one polling station, Brenneis said, adding that the board of trustees will confirm the location on Wednesday, at the same time as the election date is confirmed.
“The voting station will likely be located in the St. Albert Protestant Schools district office,” he said.
The last Protestant board byelection was held in the spring of 2003, after the death of Armin Kauppila.
Trettler, who has served as a trustee for 13 years, said that serving as a trustee is one way that people interested in education can make a difference in their community.
“This is a position for anyone wanting to be involved in education in St. Albert. You do make a difference,” she said. “Sometimes it’s hard to see and you don’t see it for a while. But you can make a difference in education in St. Albert and you can make a difference in education within the province.”
