The newly elected school board trustees were sworn in during a formal ceremony at Thomas Haney Secondary School on Wednesday, Nov. 2.
There are two new faces on the board – Hudson Campbell and Gabe Liosis – and five incumbents: Elaine Yamamoto, Mike Murray, Kim Dumore, Pascale Shaw, and Kathleen Sullivan.
Yamamoto was sick and was the only incumbent who was not able to attend the ceremony.
Before school district secretary treasurer Flavia Coughlan started the oath of office, former trustee Korleen Carreras, who ran and won a seat in the election as a city councillor – but who still holds the title of school board chair until the new chair is elected – presented her final annual report.
Carreras became emotional as she began the report, saying she was quite sad to leave her role, because, she said, it was an honour to be a school trustee for eight years.
She thanked her fellow trustees for allowing her the opportunity to take on the role of chair for the past four years.
“It is something that I will take with me for the rest of my life because it truly was such a beautiful few years of my life and I learned a great deal from everyone in our community – in particular the students. We have so much to learn from you,” she said.
Carreras recalled how excited and nervous the new board after the election four years ago, wondering what the future was going to bring for them.
“Ready to bring change to the district to support better learning and outcomes. Ready to implement the important work – things like food security, adequate funding, improvements to classroom supports, exceptional learners, building better relationships with Indigenous peoples within our community, and expanding the much needed facilities in our district. It has been quite a four years,” said Carreras.
She explained how they were able to put together their strategic plan for their term in office – however, there was also the COVID-19 pandemic, noted Carreras, that no one could have planned for.
Carreras then ran through some of the big moments during the last four years for the school district including learning during their first year that they were a pilot district for the Integrated Child and Youth Teams to support youth mental health and they set up processes and policies for other school districts to follow.
“None of that work was easy and it took an amazing amount of work from our team and staff,” she said.
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She also mentioned the opening of cusqunela Elementary School – a school, she noted, that was designed with Katzie and Kwantlen First Nations elders. And at the same time, Carreras added, they were able to purchase a new piece of property in the north east Albion area for future expansion.
Carreras noted that 11 schools now have child care facilities on the grounds and she noted that as a board they also worked collaboratively at the provincial level.
Some of the other work they did to highlight the work that is needed in the district is a report on facility condition and why they need more funding to properly maintain their buildings. And the report, authored by school trustee Murray, is something that every school district is looking at and using as an advocacy took, explained Carreras.
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Carreras also praised school trustee Dumore as a champion of the need for universal food programming in the schools and trustee Shaw for her work on proper funding for student transportation.
Funding for diverse learners, funding for educational opportunities in correctional facilities and capital projects, Carreras noted, are only a few examples of the work the board did at the provincial level.
She finished by saying Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows “chose so well” the new school board in the Oct. 15 election.
“I want to say thank you to the new board and congratulations,” said Carreras, before wishing them the best for the coming term.
Following Carreras’ presentation, Coughlan read out the names of the newly elected trustees before asking them to stand and take the oath of office.
Yamamoto must take the oath of office before Dec. 2, however, it is not mandatory for the oath to be made at a school board meeting, explained Irena Pochop with the school district.
“Secretary Treasurer Coughlan will administer the oath of office once trustee Yamamoto is better,” noted Pochop.
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