There will be old and new faces on the Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) board of trustees, following a nomination day that has filled all nine of the seats up for grabs.
On Sept. 18, trustees submitted their nominations for a spot within their ward on the NLPS school board. Nine people threw their name into the ring, and all came out winners.
Nicole Garner, communications officer for NLPS, said it was great to see the school board acclaimed, with trustees in each of the five wards.
“We have had in past elections where we've had to extend nominations to fill all of the available spots. It was nice this year not to have to do that,” Garner explained.
For Ward 1, which covers Bonnyville and area, Garry Kissel and Michael Topylki are returning to the board. Lorne Kaban is the new trustee to the group.
Kaban was involved in the Duclos, H.E. Bourgoin, and Bonnyville Centralized High School parent councils for several years.
In Ward 2, there are two new faces, Karen Packard and Ron Young.
“Karen comes to us via parent council. She's a parent and she has been really involved at Cold Lake Elementary School,” said Garner. “Ron Young was a teacher and administrator with NLPS for many years. He's very involved in the community. He was on Cold Lake council for quite a number of years, as well as a number of various community initiatives.”
Returning to the Cold Lake and area ward is Mandi Skogen, the current chair for the board of trustees.
The remaining three board members are all returning from their respective wards. Arlene Hrynyk will be representing the Lac La Biche-Plamondon area, while Maurice Richard will be vouching for Lac La Biche. In Lac La Biche south will be Debra Lozinski.
Garner believes it was the discussion within the community about the available positions on the school board that helped get the seats filled.
“People were paying attention, and they were involved enough to have those conversations, and they're interested in making a contribution,” Garner said.
The current board will stay in place until the new board has held an organizational meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
“The new board will have their new meeting, get sworn in, and have their annual organizational meeting. They will elect a board chair, vice chair, and choose all of their committees for the year,” explained Garner.
