TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT
NOTICE OF MOTION
INTRODUCED: September 9, 2024
FROM: Councillor Tim Morrison
SUBJECT: Greater Victoria School District 61 Board of Education - Election by Community/Trustee Electoral Areas
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
WHEREAS the vast majority of B.C. School Districts that serve multiple municipalities have implemented a Trustee Electoral Area election model whereby local communities each separately elect their own School Trustee representative(s) to help optimize fair and equitable school board representation among the various municipalities,
AND WHEREAS the Greater Victoria School District 61 Board of Education has the authority to seek permission from the B.C. Ministry of Education to implement a more fair and equitable Trustee Electoral Area election model for electing school board trustees,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Township of Esquimalt formally request that the Greater Victoria School District 61 Board of Education consider a Trustee Electoral Area election model to be implemented in time for the 2026 Local Government/Board of Education elections,
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Township of Esquimalt author letters to the City of Victoria, District of Saanich, District of Oak Bay, Town of View Royal, District of Highlands, the Songhees Nation and Esquimalt Nation informing them of the Township’s request to the Greater Victoria School District 61 Board of Education, and further invite these communities to consider endorsing the Township’s request to the Greater Victoria School District 61 Board of Education for consideration of a new Trustee Electoral Area election model.
Body
COUNCIL PRIORITY:
• Good Governance & Organizational Excellence
• Strong Relationships & Partnerships
BACKGROUND:
The Greater Victoria School District 61 Board of Education provides local public education related governance and facilities governance for approximately 20,000 students in schools spread throughout Victoria, Esquimalt, Oak Bay, View Royal, and parts of Saanich (Saanich is divided into two School Districts 61 and 63) as well as a portion of Highlands (divided into Districts 61 and 62).
Currently, all nine of the Board’s school trustees are elected at-large for the entire school district. In 2022, for example, that meant a long list of 30 school board candidates for each municipality to jointly administer during the election. As evidenced in 2022, this can mean extra time and longer lines/waiting times to do the voting process for individual voters as it can be overwhelming for local voters to decipher a ballot with such a long list, particularly when many of the candidates have no local residency/connection to the Township of Esquimalt. For school board candidates, it also means there are significant barriers to running a successful campaign as it is both extremely expensive and logistically challenging to simultaneously campaign and adequately connect with voters in six separate municipalities.
Past election results indicate that almost all of the District 61 trustees consistently reside in either Victoria or Saanich with currently no Township of Esquimalt residents serving on the School Board nor is there any indication that there has been any Esquimalt representation for much of the past.
ANALYSIS:
From population growth to school overcrowding to crossing guards, sports grant funding to fields and facilities and joint use agreements to youth engagement, the Township of Esquimalt has important ongoing issues under the purview of School District 61. Our residents contribute financially through a portion of our property taxation assigned as school taxes but with no direct representation. Many of our residents are also District 61 students and parents with local school-related issues that would benefit from local representation. In addition to fostering a stronger connection with District 61 and facilitating enhanced relationships and partnerships between the Township and the School District, our community’s governance would greatly benefit from having direct and dedicated representation from within our community at the District 61 Board of Education table.
How do other School Districts in B.C. determine representation and election of School Trustees?
Almost all other B.C. school districts recognize the importance of fair and equitable representation when serving multiple municipalities and have an election system in place that elects trustees separately and proportionally by community. These systems use Trustee Electoral Areas (i.e. wards) which commonly overlap with municipal geographic boundaries. Within the CRD, for example, there are four school districts, three of which elect trustees separately by Trustee Electoral Areas whereas District 61 does not (See Appendix A).
District 61 is very much the anomaly in being one of the only school districts in B.C. to NOT have implemented a Trustee Electoral Area model (See Appendix B).
Possible Better Model:
As an example of a better, more equitable and representational election model for School District 61’s nine school trustees that would be consistent with how other B.C. school districts commonly elect their Board of Education School Trustees, it could be one proportionally divided by approximate population as follows:
Trustee Electoral Area 1: City of Victoria - Number of school trustees elected based on proportion of the population
Trustee Electoral Area 2: Combined Township of Esquimalt/Town of View Royal/ Portion of Highlands - Number of school trustees elected based on proportion of the population*
Trustee Electoral Area 3: Combined District of Oak Bay/Partial District of Saanich - Number of school trustees elected based on proportion of the population
(*Area 2 could possibly also include Songhees Nation and Esquimalt Nation in the Area 2 total population with the permission of the two Nations and upon appropriate consultations)
The current total number of school trustees is nine, so nine could be proportionally divided up into the above three areas.
Who decides?
Appropriately, the ultimate consideration of a new representation election model to be implemented would be for School District #61’s Board of Education to determine. The Board would then need to formally submit an application for approval by the Minister of Education. In making the application, the Board is required to provide an overview of the input received from a formal public consultation process. Preferably, District #61 would conduct consultations with the City of Victoria, District of Saanich, Township of Esquimalt, District of Oak Bay, the Town of View Royal, and the District of Highlands as well as important consultations with the Songhees Nation and Esquimalt Nation among other stakeholders such as students, parents and school employees.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Not applicable
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
1. Appendix A: Election Systems for CRD School Districts
2. Appendix B: List of BC School Districts that Elect Trustees Proportionally by Community/Trustee Electoral Areas
3. Draft Letter to School District 61 School Board
4. Draft Letter to School District 61 Municipalities