The majority of members of the Tri-County Regional School Board have been returned to the board by acclamation as six seats are not being challenged in the upcoming election.
The deadline for filing papers to run for school board was Sept. 11. The incumbents who have been returned to the school board are Ron Hines (Argyle), Joan Brewer (town/municipality of Yarmouth), Faye Haley (Digby), Alvin Comeau (Clare) and Andrea Huskilson-Newell (Barrington/western Shelburne County).
Andy Baxter, who served on the school board in the past, returns to the board. He was the only candidate to put his name forward for District 6 in the Town of Yarmouth and therefore wins the seat by acclamation. This seat was won by Winnie Surette in the last election, although Surette had to resign the seat due to health reasons. The Department of Education had appointed Brian Noble to fill the seat until the next election was held. Noble opted not to put his name forward to run for the seat in the upcoming vote.
Three district school board seats and the African Nova Scotian seat are being challenged in the upcoming vote.
In Digby County board chair Donna Tidd is being challenged by Chris Outhouse in the District 3 contest.
In the Municipality of Yarmouth, a new board member will fill the seat in District 8 as school board vice-chair Anne Moses is not re-offering after having served 24 years as a school board member, dating back to the days of the Yarmouth District School Board. Seeking election for this seat are Dolores Atwood and Jude Fulton. In the Municipality of Yarmouth people living in municipal Districts 1, 3 and 4 are eligible to vote for this seat.
In eastern Shelburne County, board member Nick Pippy is not reoffering for the District 9 seat. Running for the seat are Elizabeth Acker and Holly Renaud.
There are two candidates seeking election for the African Nova Scotian seat. The candidates are incumbent Michael Alden Fells and challenger Darlene Lawrence.
The Mi’kmaq seat on the Tri-County Regional School Board is an appointed position.
In the election for the three Argyle seats for the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP), four candidates are running for the three seats. The three incumbents who are re-offering are Jeanelle Marie d’Entremont, J. Donald Doucette, Donald W. Jacquard. Also challenging for a seat is Marcel Muise.
All three incumbents who served on the CSAP for the Clare region have been returned to the school board by acclamation: Marcel Cottreau, Kenneth Gaudet and Sophie Theriault.
When it comes to voting for a school board member, the electorate has a choice of casting a ballot in one of three races. They can vote for their member of the Tri-County Regional School Board or, if they are qualified to, they can vote for the African Nova Scotian seat or the CSAP. But again, electors can only vote for one of these school board offices, even if they meet the qualifications to vote for all three.
