The Prince Albert Roman Catholic School Division made some decisions around the upcoming 2020 school board elections — deciding to follow the guidelines set by the City of Prince Albert. At their regular meeting by teleconference on Monday, May 4 the school board was given a number of options before deciding how to go ahead with the election.
“Historically that is something that is done and has been done. We know that the electors in this community will follow that stream of thought and will understand locally. There is usually an alignment with civic elections,” director of education Lorel Trumier said.
The school board election will be held on November 9 with the nomination deadline date set for October 7. The board will continue with one rural and six urban trustee positions. According to administration, the cost of the election is $55,000. 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 a number of items sent to them for consideration. All votes were unanimous by the board on Monday. Like the Saskatchewan Rivers Division decided last month, the Returning officer will be the City Clerk for urban seats. The Ballot will be alphabetical by surname as opposed to the option for alternative arrangement such as rotation. Rotating ballots would cost the school division $5,500 and administration recommended alphabetical order. 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. The school board voted not to have disclosure requirements for campaign contributions or spending limits recommended by administration.
The board also voted not 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. The City selected option three and the administration made that recommendation.
There was some discussion around previous procedure because the policy may prevent people from running. The deposit is required by the Local Government Election Act.
The board eventually decided to vote on the motion though they could have delayed it until their next meeting on Monday, May 25.
