While there won't be trustee elections in Border Land School Division (BLSD) this fall, Vice Chair Patty Wiebe delivered remarks on behalf of the acclaimed Board during an address to the audience at an all-candidates forum in Altona last week.
The nomination deadline in September resulted in seven incumbent trustees retaining their seats by acclamation. They are Jolene Bunn in Ward 1, Gail Sutherland in Ward 3, Albert Klassen in Ward 4, Mark Krahn in Ward 5, Jake Fehr in Ward 6, and Patty Wiebe and Steven Wiebe in Ward 7. No other candidates registered to run in the election, leaving a vacancy in Ward 2 and another in Ward 7.
In her address, Wiebe explained the Board will determine next steps in regard to those vacancies following the October 26th election.
Meantime, school divisions are heading into another budget season, and Wiebe says it is one filled with unknowns.
"The (provincial) government has undertaken a new funding formula for school divisions in Manitoba. At this point, we still have no information or direction from the province and have been told that this new formula will be applied to the 2023 budget, and that needs to be set for March 15th," explained Wiebe. "This makes planning for the future very difficult, but this is work we will engage with our senior administration."
While declining enrolment creates another budgeting challenge for the Board, Wiebe noted their priorities remain the same. They are to support local programming options, provide supports for children in classrooms to achieve their potential, to provide equitable access to education and services for all families, and to advance continuous improvement plans in the areas of literacy, numeracy, Indigenous education and Education for Sustainability.
Additional goals for the coming term include building understanding of the role of trustees, the Board and the Province in local decision making, as well as maintaining communication with the communities the Board serves.