Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district's board of education will soon be back to a full complement of trustees after Tim Harris won yesterday's byelection.
Harris was elected with 594 votes, with runner-up Joan Brown receiving 224 votes, according to preliminary results posted on the Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools website soon after the polls closed Saturday, Sept. 14.
Harris said his emotions ranged from "a little bit of shock," to gratitude to voters and to his fellow candidate. Harris didn't know what to expect going into the byelection, as it was the first time running off-reserve for the former Stz'uminus councillor and his first time campaigning across a region instead of in one community. Voters with whom he spoke seemed impressed with his experience, he said.
"I was hearing good support, but I was also hearing about some of the support that Joan Brown was going to be receiving, as well," he said.
Harris will begin attending meetings immediately and is looking forward to officially taking his seat at the board table.
"I'll roll up my sleeves and put my head down and get to work here for the people that have voted me there," he said. "The process is about showing up, putting in the hard work … I've been a part of governance and boards for many years now, so I've just got to figure out how the district does it."
The trustee position became available after Charlene McKay resigned in the spring, citing unprofessional conduct in the work environment. Harris said he tries to keep in mind that board decisions tend to be about business and shouldn't be taken personally.
"I think carrying myself that way and having that experience, I don't think I'm going to be trampled over and be treated badly," he said.
Some of the files he's looking forward to working on include making decisions around aging facilities and finding ways to improve classroom supports for students and staff, and he's also interested in gaining a better understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity education in the school district.
Part of his byelection platform was adding a south-end voice to the school board table, but he said he also recognizes the budget only goes so far, and Ladysmith isn't the only part of the district with aging facilities. School boards need to prioritize and make decisions informed by data, he said.
"The only thing we can control is being an advocate and being a support for the issues that are at hand for the district – as a single board member, we don't have all the say," Harris said.
