Walsh said the goal is to make sure everyone understands what the roles will look like if they do become elected. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm

With a school board by-election coming up in September, Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools is hosting an information night for those interested in learning about the role of school trustee.

This by-election is to fill a vacant spot on the board after trustee Charlene McKay resigned at the end of May of this year.

CHLY spoke with Mark Walsh, Secretary-Treasurer and Chief Electoral Officer for School District 68 Nanaimo Ladysmith. This is Walsh’s third time acting as Chief Electoral Officer for the district.

The information night will take place online on July 9 starting at 6 p.m.

Walsh said the information session is for people interested in becoming a trustee. Participants will learn about the role and what their week-by-week schedule could look like in the role.

“So the focus of the trustee information night is actually on the role of the trustees. So it's not, here's how you run or here's the kind of reporting requirements, that's through Elections BC,” Walsh said. “What this is about is to let people kind of understand the time commitment, what the role of a trustee is a little bit about Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools as well.”

He said the goal is to make sure everyone understands what the roles will look like if they do become elected.

“People are going to be running, they're going to be putting their heart and soul into getting elected, they've got important things they want to advocate for,” he said.

He said in previous information nights before elections, attendees have heard about what the statutory roles of a trustee are, and to a certain extent, what the limits for the role are.

“So a great example is last time someone came in and they said ‘we really want to change the curriculum to be this, this and this.’ But the reality is that the Ministry of Education and Childcare is the main driver of curriculum, not the local school district,” he said. “So that's an important distinction that if you're looking to make significant changes in that regard, this might not be the avenue necessary for you.”

Walsh explained the school board’s main driver of change is through policy.

“So the board sets the really big ideas, and then staff goes and ensures that they're happening,” he said. “Then the board actually oversees the superintendent, with respect to accountability on that front.”

He also said another main aspect of the board is advocating for items like getting a new high school built in the district.

“We're trying to get [Nanaimo District Secondary School (NDSS)] rebuilt. The board doesn't actually have the money to do that–that flows from the Ministry of Education and Childcare,” he said. “So the Board of Trustees can't go, ‘I'm gonna get [NDSS] rebuilt and we're gonna use all our resources for that’ just because we don't have those resources as a school district. That's not how the system functions”

He said the information session will be recorded so it can be posted online later for people to watch if they were unable to attend the session.

Walsh said the school district often hears about “culture war topics”, but wants to make it clear to people interested in running, that there are limits on what a trustee can and cannot do. He noted Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) as an example. Recently anti-SOGI protests have occurred in Nanaimo and around the country calling for the end of the SOGI program.

“This district is obligated both by its own policies, but as well as the direction of the Ministry of Education and Childcare, and the Human Rights Code of British Columbia that we are upholding human rights,” he said. “So trustees theoretically couldn't come and change our obligations with respect to gender diversity as an example.”

The by-election is scheduled for Saturday, September 14, with advance and special voting days leading up to the election throughout September. The school district has a website with all the important information for those who are interested in running as well as dates and locations for voting.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.