Three new trustees will join seven incumbents on the Limestone District School Board of Trustees for a new four-year term in office, commencing November 15, 2022. This includes the historic addition of the first Indigenous Trustee to be appointed by the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte.
The issue of representation and having an Indigenous voice at the Board level has been a topic of considerable discussion by Trustees in recent years and previously led to the addition of an Indigenous Student Trustee to start the 2020-2021 school year. For the past three to four years, Limestone has had an Education Agreement with the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte for students from the territory attending Napanee District Secondary School. Trustees voted unanimously in May 2022, to approach the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte to pursue their interest in appointing an Indigenous Trustee through Regulation 462/97. After consultations with the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte and the Indigenous Education Advisory Council (IEAC) there was agreement that the Indigenous Trustee would be appointed by the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte and ensure an Indigenous voice is at the Board table. The term of appointment will align with the four-year term served by trustees municipally elected from November 14, 2022 to November 14, 2026.
The addition of an Indigenous Trustee to the Board, now brings the number of officials to ten. LDSB also has three student trustees elected through the district’s Inter-school Council representing the voices of Indigenous, Urban and Rural students.
Incumbents Karen McGregor, Suzanne Ruttan, Joy Morning, Garrett Elliott, Bob Godkin, Judith Brown and Robin Hutcheon were either acclaimed or re-elected on October 24. Joining the Board as first-time Trustees are Tiffany Lloyd (acclaimed Greater Napanee) and Jim Neill (Kingscourt-Rideau-Countryside).
Laurie French and Tom Gingrich chose not to run for re-election.
“The job of school board trustee is an important one focused on protecting and improving public education, and on empowering staff to provide high quality learning opportunities for all students,” says Chair of the Board and veteran trustee Suzanne Ruttan. “As elected officials, trustees must balance the demands of the community with the duties required by the Ministry of Education. This can be challenging and takes dedicated leadership coupled with a willingness to seek innovative ideas and the courage to implement them.” She adds, “I wish all new and re-elected trustees well as they navigate the ever-changing landscape of public education.”
Director of Education Krishna Burra will work with staff to support incoming Trustees in their new role. “Staff look forward to working with the new Board of Trustees to ensure we are working together positively and collaboratively to support student achievement and well-being using the Board’s strategic plan as our road map.”
Earlier this year, the Board approved a change to the trustee distribution within the City of Kingston and Frontenac Islands for the 2022 municipal elections to better reflect population across the municipality and to evenly distribute secondary schools amongst the 5 elected trustees representing Kingston and the Islands.
Submitted by the Limestone District School Board
