Two candidates are prepared to be the next voice for Bow Valley education in an upcoming trustee board byelection.
Locals Joe Bembridge and Luke Sunderland submitted nomination forms this week to officially run for the open Banff ward trustee position for the Canadian Rockies Public Schools (CRPS).
The byelection is Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and voting polls will be set up inside the Banff Community High School library. The same voting rules apply as in a general election.
The position opened up this summer following the resignation of longtime trustee Kim Bater. A seat he held for 14 years.
As elected community representatives, the role of a school trustee is being the public’s voice for local education.
Bembridge, co-organizer of Banff Pride and 2014 SHINE award recipient, grew up in Canmore and has given speeches for Community Helpers in front of Bow Valley high school students around LGBQT issues.
A familiar face in the mountain community, Bembridge actively volunteers at CRPS schools, including with the Mountain Readers Program at Banff Elementary.
“I feel it’s important to be active within the school system to be able to speak to the school,” Bembridge said. “If you’re not involved, if you’re not chatting with the teachers, involved with parents and directing with the students, it’s hard to know what they need and what they want and how to support them.
“There are so many incredible teachers and parents and students involved in this school system and I really feel like I would be a great ally for them to make sure their voices are heard and recognized and supported.”
Sunderland, vice-president and chief operating officer at The Banff Centre, is reminded daily how CRPS influences his life, whether it’s wife who’s a teacher for the division or his children who attend school in Banff. He is involved in various organizations within the community and has an eye on putting “the students first.”
A field Sunderland looks at for engaging students is to know how today’s students through elementary and secondary learn and grow.
“What I like about (CRPS) is their strategic framework in terms of Inspiring Hearts and Minds as it relates to the whole student – it relates to physical, cognitive, social, emotional and spiritual, so engagement of the student is the core of that,” Sunderland said, in an August 2015 interview with the Outlook.
Being able to use local resources for students preparing for life after school and continuing programs that students are able to learn from local industries, such as environmental and hospitality and tourism, among others, is important, Sunderland said.
“I think it provides the kids a really great opportunity to learn from what the community is really strong at,” Sunderland said. “I think that’s an area that has funding potential and enrolment potential and puts the students first.”
Results of the byelection will be made public the night of after the polls have closed.
