A vacant Kootenay Lake School District No. 8 trustee position representing Nelson and Bealby Point will be filled through a provincial appointment rather than another election.
The school district said in a media release that it’s preparing to recommend potential candidates to the province after one of two trustee positions for the area went unfilled during October’s municipal election.
The City of Nelson’s original Sept. 11 declaration of candidates listed incumbents Julie Bremner and Murray Shunter as uncontested candidates.
However, the city’s subsequent declaration of election by acclamation named Shunter as the elected trustee, leaving the second position vacant. According to SD8, the vacancy resulted from “too few candidates” coming forward to fill both seats. They didn’t respond when asked why Bremner was not sworn in.
The appointment process was outlined in a memorandum from superintendent Trish Smillie to the board ahead of its inaugural meeting on Nov. 10. According to the document, the provincial education minister can appoint a trustee when electors fail to elect the required number.
The proposed process would see the board identify the skills and experience it wants in a new trustee before advertising a public expression of interest in Nelson and Bealby Point for 10 working days.
Trustees would then rank the candidates and forward between one and three names to the minister, along with their rationale for the recommendations.
There have already been three expressions of interest, according to the board’s Nov. 10 meeting agenda.
They include Lorri Fehr, a former SD8 director of learning who also worked as a teacher and principal in the district, and George Mentz, who has 39 years of experience in education.
The third candidate is 21-year-old Patton Gatto-Beebe, a former SD8 student trustee who served during the 2022-23 school year. Gatto-Beebe also ran in October’s election to represent Creston on the SD8 board, finishing second.
The superintendent’s memorandum also notes that the minister has final authority over the appointment.
SD8 did not respond to requests for further explanation when asked why a provincial appointment is being pursued instead of a by-election that would allow residents to elect their second representative.
The district’s other eight trustees were also sworn into office on Nov. 10. Lenora Trenaman,who previously served as board chair from 2014 to 2023, was acclaimed for another term while Cody Beebe was acclaimed as vice-chair.
It’s been at least 30 years since someone was directly appointed to a local school board or city council, although appointments were made to Kaslo council in the 1970s and Nakusp council in the 1980s.
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