When Jasperites hit the polls on election day, Oct. 21, they will not only vote for a mayor and municipal councillors, but also a school trustee representative.
School trustees play an important role in district policy-making and budget with 鈥渢he interest of the children as the basis of every decision,鈥� said Betsy DeClerq, Jasper鈥檚 current school trustee representative for the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division (GYPSD).
DeClerq has been Jasper鈥檚 school trustee for the past six years, but is undecided about running again.
With the Sept. 23 nomination day looming, time is running short for those who want to throw their hat into the ring. Since legislation was passed in December 2012, school trustees, like elected municipal officials, now must serve four-year terms.
Six years ago, the decision to run for school trustee was 鈥渁n extension of my passion for children,鈥� said DeClerq, a retired teacher.
Teaching experience isn鈥檛 necessary to run for school trustee, she adds.
The position is suitable for someone who鈥檚 enthusiastic, loves children and enjoys working collaboratively, because the trustees interact with staff and teachers in all of the district鈥檚 18 schools.
School trustees don鈥檛 deal with programming, they focus on the district鈥檚 budget and policy-making, said DeClerq.
Once elected, there are two board meetings in Edson (GYPSD鈥檚 headquarters) every month, plus there are committees that trustees are encouraged to be on. DeClerq chaired the policy committee, adding an extra monthly meeting to her schedule.
Some of a trustee鈥檚 tasks include advocating education to all levels of government, being the voice of the school board for their jurisdiction and setting goals for the jurisdiction.
鈥淲e meet with local municipalities; we met with our municipality quite frequently over the [Jasper Joint School Facility] building process.鈥�
DeClerq named the Jasper Joint School Facility as one of her school trustee career highlights.
Prospective candidates should be aware that a school trustee position comes with a 鈥渟ignificant amount of driving鈥� to Edson and Edmonton for sessions. Trustees also travel to every school in the division.
One task after the 2013 election is the Education Act (Bill 3), which used to be the School Act, said DeClerq. 鈥淚t will definitely be time consuming, there will be quite a few meetings on that, I鈥檓 sure.鈥�
School trustee candidates must be a resident of the local jurisdiction for six months before nomination day and must be eligible to vote in the election. Nomination papers must be filed between 10 a.m. and noon on Sept. 23 at the local jurisdiction office.
For more information about obtaining nomination papers, phone GYPSD at 1-800-723-2564.
Sarah Makowsky
[email protected]
