Re-elected West Kelowna trustee incumbent Chantelle Desrosiers is looking forward to focusing on public education issues for the next four years.
In an election campaign that sometimes opened debate on social-cultural issues, Desrosiers acknowledged there was a lot of campaign discussion on issues not within a school board’s mandate.
That discussion was generated by the presence of candidates running under the ParentVoice BC provincial slate in the Kelowna, West Kelowna and Peachland/Okanagan West school trustee election constituencies, none of whom were elected.
“The hard thing is after elections is a time to heal I think and also focus on what really the work of the school board and school district is, and what the school board realistically can do,” said Desrosiers.
One of those priorities, she noted, was the continued concerns about a spike in enrolment and the pressure that is placed on schools such as Ecole Kelowna Secondary and Mount Boucherie Secondary.
“Speaking for West Kelowna, I would say recognition that West Kelowna is in need of more student spaces and people know I have advocated for that over the last four years, and we need to continue t work to get that new secondary built and get out students out of portables and into classrooms,” she said.
Asked if she would be interested in seeking to seek becoming school board chair to replace the retiring Moyra Baxter, Desrosiers acknowledged that is a question all newly elected trustees can give consideration to.
She said the time demands of being school board chair is something anyone interested in taking on that job has to think about.
Joining Desrosiers on the board from across Okanagan Lake is Lisa Guderyan, who is the new trustee for Peachland/Okanagan Area West.
She takes over the seat held for 26 years by Baxter, who opted this year to retire from civic politics.
Also elected to the board last Saturday representing the City of Kelowna were incumbents Julia Fraser, Lee-Ann Tiede, Wayne Broughton and newcomer Val Johnson.
Amy Geistlinger was re-elected trustee by acclamation to represent Lake Country.
READ MORE: End of an era for Central Okanagan school trustee