The School District No. 57 (SD57) election results have been officially declared and the district will see four new faces as Prince George trustees alongside incumbent Betty Bekkering.
The new board will have to face the aftermath of the previous term, which was a rocky four-years that saw a scathing provincial special advisor’s report detailing systemic racism and a culture of fear within the district, followed by the resignation of the board of education’s chair and vice-chair.
However, the five newly elected trustees are eager to turn over a new leaf.
Along with Betty Bekkering who served as a trustee from 2011-14 and was re-elected as a trustee again in 2018, the new board will be comprised of Erica McLean, Craig Brennan, Gillian Burnett and Cory Antrim.
They will join Rachael Weber, the Mackenzie district’s trustee and Bob Thompson, the representative for the Robson Valley, who are incumbents that won by acclamation.
Milton Mahoney, who won a seat during the January 2022 by-election, was not re-elected.
“I really chose to run as is a campaign for a particular reason and that was largely because I just felt that there was a strong need to support those fellow former colleagues and the students and staff. I just felt this responsibility that I could do something,” said Erica McLean, who was elected with 5,587 votes, almost 1,000 more than any other candidate.
McLean is Gixtsan and a former Indigenous education worker and community school coordinator.
“A lot of my work in SD57 was rooted in bringing people together. So, I feel like I was well versed in practice, in communicating what our larger goals and intentions were, but also in building relationships. I do believe we all are here for those reasons of having this common goal that we want to have success for all of our kids.”
She said her hope for the next four years is to bring the community together toward the goal of creating a strong culture for students and staff at SD57.
“When we look at in terms of our vulnerable student population, I really hope that we can start to change the narrative to focus on belonging, and a sense of empowerment, and excitement for the learning process.
Gillian Burnett, who’s been a parent advocate for the past 12 years, said she was humbled that the public has put their trust in her to serve as a trustee.
“For me, it's a continuation of work I was doing from the outside, but now on the inside,” said Burnett, adding she wants to focus on policy and administrative procedures, to make sure that that work gets finished.
“I’ve always tried to put the students first. Even when I was supporting parents, it was always with the focus on the students, and I don't actually think that's going to change with my role changing.”
She added that over the next four years, she hopes to see public trust in the education system increase.
“I really think that we do have a world-class education system here in B.C. and it'd be nice if people recognize that,” said Burnett.
“SD57 has had some problems, with the special adviser’s report, but we have really good people doing amazing work and it would be nice to have a little bit more positivity and a little less negativity.”
She added that she’s excited to get to know the new board and is looking forward to sitting down with them and coming up with some common goals and getting to work.
Cory Antrim, who has worked as a teacher, educational assistant, and coach for over 17 years, said he’s waiting to celebrate his election until he sees some positive change happening.
“With each step that we move forward, then I'll feel more like celebrating,” noted Antrim. He said while he campaigned focusing on the importance of extracurriculars in schools, he’s passionate about helping students, staff and families build connections to their schools.
“It'll be the discussion with the other trustees, which topics we tackle first and how we're going to go about doing that, but always in the back of my mind is going to be how do I help to support more connections to schools for children. That's always the passion that drives everything.”
Antrim added that he also wants to remain fiscally responsible and feels a sense of civic duty to uphold the promises he made in his campaign.
“I feel it's my duty to represent everyone in our community, not just the people that voted for me, but everybody that didn't vote for me or didn't vote at all. I really feel a deep commitment to helping and listening to everyone and that's exciting for me,” added Antrim.
The outgoing board of trustees will come together for the final time Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. and the new board will sit for the first time on Nov. 8.
