ATHABASCA-BARRHEAD-WESTLOCK-Pembina Hills trustees voted 5-1 during their April 22 meeting to accept a fourth option that arose during the public consultation of their Electoral Ward Review and to direct administration to draft a bylaw that would amend the electoral boundaries accordingly.
Back in January and February, Pembina Hills trustees attended a series of school council meetings to present three options for a possible revision of the divison’s current electoral boundaries.
They also conducted an online survey that drew 146 responses, 64 of which were submitted by people who attended the school council meetings.
One of these options was to keep the status quo of one ward and seven electoral subdivisions, while the other two options reduced the number of electoral subdivisions to different degrees.
This fourth option, which was actually suggested by a parent attending the Barrhead Elementary School council meeting on Feb. 3, would see the division split into six wards that roughly align with the boundaries of local municipalities.
Two of these wards would cover the Town of Barrhead and the Town of Westlock.
On the west side of the division, Neerlandia and Dunstable would be part of the Pembina Hills West-Ward 1, while Fort Assiniboine and Swan Hills would be covered by Pembina Hills West-Ward 2.
On the east side of the division, Busby and Eleanor Hall School in Clyde would be part of Pembina Hills East-Ward 1, while Pembina North Community School in Dapp and the two Hutterite Colony schools would be part of Pembina Hills East-Ward 2.
Though the populations of the two town wards would still be higher than the rest, the four out-of-town wards would be roughly balanced in terms of residential and student population.
Back during the April 8 meeting, trustees decided that they would bring this fourth option to their respective school councils and ask for feedback. However, virtually none of the trustees had any feedback to report on April 22.
When board chair Jennifer Tuininga asked her fellow trustees for their personal opinions on Option 4, most were in favour of it.
Trustee Kerry McElroy, who voted against the motion, pointed out that 62.3 per cent of participants in their public consultation preferred the status quo, particularly people from Swan Hills.
While one of the arguments in favour of reducing the number of trustees was that the division could save roughly $20,000 per year, McElroy pointed out that they were saving roughly $1,000 in mileage costs by simply conducting board meetings via videoconferencing.
However, it should be noted that McElroy also had issues with his online connection and commented later that he would prefer to conduct this type of vote in-person.
“I understand the reason why we have to (conduct these meetings remotely), but personally I like seeing peoples’ body language when we’re voting on an issue of this nature,” he said.
McElroy also suggested that by reducing the board by one trustee, they were sending the wrong message to the provincial government — on one side of the coin, they were saying that Pembina Hills uses its allotted funds conservatively, but on the other, they were also saying the same job could be done with fewer people.
“I don’t think this is the right time to be doing this,” he said.
Pembina Hills board chair Jennifer Tuininga pointed out that they started the ward review because declining enrolment and the loss of several schools had left the electoral subdivisions uneven in terms of population.
Trustee Wendy Scinski added that while $20,000 may not seem significant, the board made a number of cuts in November when they knew the provincial budget would impact the division’s funding.
“We did cut things that were not huge-ticket items, but … if we can save a bit here, save a bit there, at the end of the day it adds up,” she said.
Trustee Jackie Carson said she had been hearing consistently over the past three years during school council meetings that residents were in favour of reducing the number of trustees.
“So I’m leaning towards Option 4, only because that is the feedback that I have received,” she said.
Trustee Jackie Comeau said she probably would have been more in favour of the status quo had it not been for this fourth option.
Finally, trustee Judy Lefebvre said that if they turned around and voted in favour of keeping the status quo, they would negate all the reasons they came up with for reducing the number of trustees.
Tuininga noted that the matter is not yet final: a bylaw to change the division’s electoral boundaries still has to be drafted by administration and then come back to the board to be voted upon.
