The Prince Albert Roman Catholic School Division is ready for the upcoming 2024 school board elections.
The division released the election package after the City of Prince Albert launched their municipal election information on Monday. Education Director Lorel Trumier said the goal is to help candidates determine whether they will run or not.
The package includes information from the Saskatchewan School Board Association, the Saskatchewan Catholic School Board Association, and the Prince Albert Catholic School Division.
Trumier said the elections are an important part of keeping a community voice in local education.
“It is important that we do have our representation,” she said. “Each election it’s important that the democratic process occur and there would be people that would stand up to support our school board and support our children as an opportunity (to be a) local voice.”
In March, the PA Catholic school board decided to follow the guidelines set by the City of Prince Albert.
The school board election will be held on Nov. 13 with the nomination deadline date set for Sept. 24. The nomination date has moved back from five to seven weeks before the election to follow the City of Prince Albert’s lead.
The board will continue with one rural and six urban trustee positions. According to administration, the estimated cost of the election is $53,000, or one quarter of the election cost. The rest of the costs are covered by the City of Prince Albert.
Administration has had preliminary meetings with the City of Prince Albert and Saskatchewan Rivers School Division to discuss particulars of the election.
At the meeting, the board voted on several items sent to them for consideration. All votes were unanimous by the board. The City Clerk will serve as returning officer for urban seats only. The Ballot will be alphabetical by surname.
The City does not require occupations on ballots and the administration recommended no resolution to include occupations on the nomination paper and ballots which was also approved.
Like Saskatchewan Rivers, the school board voted not to have disclosure requirements for campaign contributions or spending limits as recommended by administration.
The board also voted to return the deposit of $100 to all candidates whether they win or lose. The options included returning the entire amount, retaining the candidates fee or return to those successfully elected. Administration recommended returning only to successful candidates.
Information about the election is available on the Catholic Division’s website.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
