Monday, January 18, 2016

School District 52 to seek counsel of Ministry of Education over City's by election delay

The growing delay in putting in place a by election for departed Trustee Judy Carlick-Pearson, is  starting to irritate the board and administration officials at School District 52.

As we noted on the blog in November, Ms Carlick Pearson advised the Board of her intention to step down that month after one year of service, setting in motion the process to replace her for the rest of her term.

Since that time the City of Prince Rupert, which is required to conduct the By-election for the School District put forward an employment notice, seeking the services of a Chief Election Officer.

That competition ended on January 4th, but the City has not publicly announced the name of the successful candidate to this point, nor has it announced a date for the by-election to fill the empty seat on the Board.

The extended nature of the delay is clearly on the mind of School District Board officials, who made note of the situation as part of their recap of the January 12th Board Meeting, with a particular concern related to any potential consequences for the School District as a result of the delay.

A date for the by-election to fill the vacant trustee position has not yet been set. In accordance with the School Act, the by-election must be run by the City of Prince Rupert. The district has directed staff to consult with ministry officials to determine if there are consequences for the district resulting from the delay of the City of Prince Rupert in appointing a Chief Election officer.

More notes on  other items from that January 12th Board meeting can be found here.

The Coast Mountain School District had a similar opening to fill after the passing of trustee Gary Turner on October 2nd, that position was filled with a by-election earlier this month when Sandy Watson was elected to the post to represent Thonrhill on January 9th. She will be sworn in to office on January 27th, with her first School District meeting later that night.

For more items related to School District 52 issues see our archive page here.

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