Trustee Willow Reichelt was elected chair as the new-look Chilliwack School Board held its first meeting Monday (Nov. 7).
Returning trustees Reichelt, Carin Bondar, Heather Maahs and David Swankey and newcomers Teri Westerby, Richard Procee and Margaret Reid met in person at the Chilliwack School District 33 office.
Reichelt was nominated for board chair by Bondar. Maahs nominated Swankey and Reichelt earned the majority of votes.
“I’m really excited,” said Reichelt, who has previously served as board chair and vice chair. “I feel like the seven people we have on the board all care about kids. We might have different perspectives, but we’re all ready to work to make education better and I think it’s going to be a great four years.”
Bondar was nominated for vice chair. Maahs nominated Swankey who “respectfully declined,” and Bondar was acclaimed.
Westerby was acclaimed to the position of British Columbia Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) provincial councillor, with Bondar as alternate.
“Teri brings a real passion for inclusion and for understanding that kids can’t learn unless they’re safe,” Reichelt said. “He believes in making schools places where every kid feels they belong.”
Reid was acclaimed to the position British Columbia School Trustees Association (BCSTA) provincial councillor, with Swankey as alternate.
“Margaret is a parent and she’s also a community connector who does all sorts of work in the community,” Reichelt noted. “She has all these connections she can bring into play.”
The third newcomer, Procee, was quiet during the meeting but Reichelt said he’ll be a valuable voice at the table.
“He has done so much charity work in our community and he helps out with lots and lots of projects through his business,” she said. “I’m looking to see his community-minded spirit on the board and I’m quite excited by it.”
The board gets down to business tomorrow (Nov. 8) with another meeting that will be live-streamed on the SD33 website.
Reichelt will play a big role in what’s to come, meeting weekly with SD33 superintendent Rohal Arul-pragasam to talk about issues and set the agenda. In the short term, the modest goal is to get the board functioning as a cohesive unit.
“We really need to get back to a basic level of treating every trustee like they’re a full member of the board, that we can all treat each other with respect even if we have differences,” Reichelt said. “I feel like this is a new era. We may disagree in the meeting, but I’m hoping we’ll be able to talk to each other afterwards. I’m hoping that’ll be the case.”
See the agenda at sd33.bc.ca/board-meetings-2022-23.
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