By Charles Lefebvre

Prairie Rose School Division will elect new trustees

Mar 9, 2017 | 3:27 PM

DUNMORE, AB — The Prairie Rose School Division will officially have three new trustees after tonight.

The division is holding a byelection for two trustees in Ward 1, which covers Oyen, New Brigden and Acadia Valley. The polls close at 8 p.m.

Lois Bedwell, Lucille Hertz, James Ness and Daryl Yake have put their names up for election for the positions. Information about the candidates can be found here.

“We haven’t actually had elections in that area for trustees for a number of years,” said Angela Baron, communications coordinator with the division. “Those positions have been acclaimed in the past, so there’s been some interest and that’s very exciting for the area.”

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Baron believes the interest in the area is a result of the issue of New Brigden School. The school only recorded two students enrolled for the school year, and the board will be meeting with the town on March 20 to discuss options for the school, including potential closure.

“The new trustees will very quickly be brought in to that type of discussion and the community issues that they’re looking at.

The board lost three trustees since the 2013 election due to trustees moving away from their wards, necessitating the byelection. Baron said the numbers resulted in the board only having quorum (five members) for their meetings, when the School Act requires boards to have quorum, plus one.

“If anybody was sick, we didn’t have enough for a meeting,” she said. “According to the regulations, we did have to hold a byelection for another trustee.”

The division announced Pamela Cursons acclaimed the vacancy in Ward 4, which includes Redcliff, Ralston and Jenner.

All three trustees will be sworn in during the board meeting on March 14.

Prairie Rose School Division will hold its regular trustee election on Oct. 16.