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New school board chair and vice chair for Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows

Elaine Yamamoto and Kim Dumore’s nominations went unchallenged
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Kim Dumore has been acclaimed as board vice chair. (The News files)

A new chair and vice chair will lead the Board of Education for the next year.

The newly elected Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows school board held their inaugural meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the District Education Office, where school board chair nominee Elaine Yamamoto, and vice chair nominee Kim Dumore went unchallenged.

Yamamoto was pleased to become chair of the board. She wanted to recognize the knowlegable, committed, hard working leaders who have been elected to the board this term.

“I am looking forward to working with them,” she said, adding that she is also looking forward to working with the two new school board trustees, who will add a different voice at the table.

Yamamoto noted that she has some big shoes to fill as she will be replacing former chair Korleen Carreras, who is now a councillor with the City of Maple Ridge, but that she welcomes the challenge.

The term, she said, will continue to be demanding because children, families, and staff will need extra support coming out of two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, even through COVID, the former board continued to advocate for new facilities, and funding to keep our existing facilities maintained. The new board will now be looking for addtional supports for diverse learners in the district and classrooms. And, Yamamoto noted, they received one year of funding for their food security initiative this year – but, she said, it will take work from the current board to make sure that initiative continues.

Yamamoto listed the school board’s anti-racism initiative, equity scan, and the next steps to their post-secondary needs assessment, as work the current board will have to tackle during their term.

READ MORE: Two new faces on Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows School Board

ALSO RELATED: New school board trustees take oath of office in Maple Ridge

“Those are all very exciting initiatives that we will continue to work on as we work our way out of the COVID situation,” said Yamamoto.

Kim Dumore expressed excitement about her new role on board.

“I am grateful to my fellow board members for allowing me this opportunity to serve at a different level. We have a great new board that brings many unique perspectives,” said Dumore.

“Moving forward, we will have many challenges and hard decisions to make post-pandemic, plus fantastic opportunities to celebrate successes in our district. Thank you to the Board of Education for putting your trust in me and acclaiming me to the role of vice chairperson for this next year,” she added.

The Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows Board is made up of five trustees representing Maple Ridge and two representing Pitt Meadows. Trustees are elected every four years at the same time as the mayor and city council. The chair and vice chair positions are reviewed every year.


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Colleen Flanagan

About the Author: Colleen Flanagan

I got my start with Black Press Media in 2003 as a photojournalist.
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