Monday, November 17, 2008

School District 52 set to greet a few new faces to the school board council table


Of the ten that sought office for School District 52’s school board, Saturday’s election provided for the return of four of the school board trustees from the last session, with Tina Last, Russell Wiens, Louisa Sanchez and Bart Kuntz returning to represent Prince Rupert as representatives.

Two newcomers will join the veterans as Terry Lynn Huddlestone and Leonard Alexcee both found that their ideas had a receptive audience with Prince Rupert parents, as they claim their seats for the upcoming session.

Janet Beil claimed the rural seat out of a slate of four potential candidates.

With many of the tougher decisions having been made in the last year, especially in the controversial issue of school closures, the new council will have a brief respite to find its feet and address the many concerns that parents have over the state of education in the region.

Those school closures of Kanata and Seal Cove of last year (and the ever present threat of further closures such as Port Edward and Westview schools) will continue to put strains on the remaining schools. They are strains that will provide the need for more creative approaches to the requirements and challenges that face the schools, from the principals on down to the youngest of kindergarten students.

They’re tasks will be daunting as they strive to combine fiscal responsibility, with the many needs of local students and the many concerns of their parents. As stewards of one of the largest employers in the region, many of their decisions have a wide ranging impact on the local economy as well as the long lasting effects on the nature of education in the region.

It’s to that mission that the next school board must quickly come up to speed on the issues and offer up guidance to both the School district and the voters that placed them in office.

The Results from Saturday’s vote were posted at the City of Prince Rupert website on Saturday night and are as follows:

School District 52 School Trustees

LAST, Tina 2187
KUNTZ, Bart 1850
WIENS, Russell 1719

SANCHEZ, Louisa 1550
HUDDLESTONE, Terri-Lynne 1448
ALEXCEE, Leonard 1110
.................................................................
MCLEAN, Dorothy 1062
JOHNSON, Brian 967
LEWIS, June 783
PEARDON, Leona 628

Rural representative

BEIL, Janet 125
......................................
ELI, Vernon 76
McDonald, Barry 76
McArthur, Pamela 41

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