Green Party incumbent Janet Fraser is now the chair of the Vancouver School Board.
The two-term trustee was elected on the first ballot at the Oct. 30 meeting, which saw the other eight trustees officially sworn in as well. A vice chair will be named, along with committee appointments in the coming days, according to a news release from the school board.
“I think it’s safe to say that all the trustees had the support of friends and family as candidates and will now have to balance their trustee responsibilities with all the other aspects of their lives,” Fraser said in a prepared statement Monday. “We have and will miss family dinners, ask for flexibility at work, and not attend sports events or performances — we have asked a lot of friends and family and I’d like to thank all of you who have and will support us.”
Monday’s meeting represented the first time in more than a year that the board table included elected trustees. The previous board, which included Fraser and three other re-elected trustees, was fired Oct. 17, 2016 for its failure to pass a balanced budget by then-Education Minister Mike Bernier. Dianne Turner was then appointed as the district’s official trustee and she’ll now transition into an advisory role.
“One relationship that will be unique among school districts is with our special advisor Dianne Turner,” Fraser said. “I look forward to our board working productively with you during our term and thank you for your work as the official trustee in the past year.”
Fraser topped the polls in the Oct. 14 byelection after garnering more than 27,000 votes. Her Green Party running mates Judy Zaichkowsky and Estrellita Gonzalez finished second and third, respectively. Outside of the Greens sweep of the top three, the remaining trustees include Vision Vancouver’s Joy Alexander, Allan Wong and Ken Clement, NPA members Lisa Dominato and Fraser Ballantyne and OneCity candidate Carrie Bercic.
Fraser laid out plans for both the short and long term and at the top of her list was a continued commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous communities, along with teacher recruitment and retention.
“Another aspect to highlight is the many relationships our new board will have to establish and nurture, not only with our stakeholders — students, parents, staff and all our employee representative groups — but also with other levels of government, such as the minister and Ministry of Education and Vancouver’s council and [park] board, partner agencies and community partners,” Fraser said.
