With their hands on Bibles, the seven new Aspen Public Schools Division board trustees were sworn into their positions during the board’s organizational meeting Oct. 20.
Elections were held Oct. 16 for Ward’s 2 and 5, while trustees in the other four wards were acclaimed after nomination day, Sept. 18.
Anne Karczmarczyk (787) and Dennis MacNeil (832) won seats in Ward 2 (North Central), leaving Monique Fehr without a seat. Thomas Mykytiuk (483) won the seat for Ward 5 (South Central), beating incumbent Elohne Chizawsky (369).
Nancy Sand was acclaimed as Ward 1 (North West) trustee, Candyce Nikipelo was acclaimed for Ward 3 (North East), April Bauer was acclaimed for Ward 4 (South West), and Donna Cherniwchan was acclaimed for Ward 6 (South East).
During the organizational meeting the trustees voted for board chair and vice chair, unanimously approving MacNeil and Nikipelo to retain their seat as board chair and vice chair.
MacNeil said in an interview he was pleased to have the confidence of the board.
“It obviously sends the message to me that we’re doing things right and we’re moving in the right direction.”
He added he is “extremely pleased” with the new board, and the two new faces will bring in “some new ideas, fresh ideas.”
MacNeil said the board’s immediate priorities would include items such as advocating with the Public School Board Association of Alberta for a single, publicly funded education system in the province. He added the board would continue to advocate for a per pupil funding system and a review of the province’s funding framework.
“If we’re going to continue to survive in rural Alberta, then that framework needs to be reviewed,” he said.
After swearing in the trustees, school division superintendent Mark Francis thanked the board members for putting their names forward in the election.
“I know I’ve said before, and I’d like to say it now, education is one of the most important things we do for our children,” he said. “The system works, and it works because people like you come and sit at this table and make important decisions. The decisions you make do have an impact, not just on your own children, but children in the community around this country, so thank you very much for doing this.”
Investigation into the Ward 5 election
Aspen View sent out a press release Oct. 20, shortly after the board of trustees organizational meeting, that a formal investigation would be conducted into the Ward 5 (south central) trustee election.
The school division contracted out services from the Town of Smoky Lake and Smoky Lake County to conduct polling for Ward 5, and the press release states 24 eligible voters who attended polling stations were “improperly denied ballots.”
“I think there was confusion on what constitutes an Aspen View school,” Francis said in an interview,” he said. “We have got to figure out exactly why that decision was made, and why it was communicated to the electors.”
He added the vote spread in Ward 5 between Mykytiuk and Chizawsky was 114 ballots, so the school division does not “think this materially affected the outcome of the election by any stretch.”
“One of the most important rights we have is the right to vote,” Francis said. “Once that’s taken away, we need to look carefully at it. One, to make sure if there’s anything we need to correct immediately, and just as important, make sure that never happens again.”
Four trustees
