New BSD trustees assume their roles

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This article was published 08/11/2022 (1168 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon School Division’s 2022-26 board of trustees came together for the first time Monday night, hosting a swearing-in ceremony that officially welcomed new members Duncan Ross, Breeanna Sieklicki and Caroline Cramer to the J.L. Milne Boardroom.

The trio took their oaths of office in front of Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta and alongside all the incumbent trustees who successfully retained their seats during last month’s municipal election.

This group of incumbents includes Linda Ross (who is not related to Duncan Ross), Jim Murray, Blaine Foley, Jason Gobeil, Kim Fallis and Calistus Ekenna.

The rest of Monday’s public meeting remained purely ceremonial in nature, and Linda Ross, the longest-serving member of the board with 29 years of experience, resumed her role as chair.

“I look forward to working with all of you throughout the next year and I trust we are going to do amazing things together,” she said.

The role of vice-chair went to Murray, who is the second-longest serving member of the board with 27 years.

Murray was similarly confident about the new makeup of BSD’s most prominent decision-making body.

“I feel like we have a pretty good group here,” he said.

The remaining members of the new board declined to make any public statements.

While Duncan Ross, Sieklicki and Cramer were all united in their status as rookie trustees Monday night, they all come from different backgrounds and highlighted their own pet issues during last month’s election.

Ross, who serves as an adviser with the Royal Bank of Canada, stressed the need for increased transparency throughout the campaign, challenging the division’s policy that only allows the chair to publicly comment on board matters outside of meetings.

Meanwhile, Sieklicki is a red seal carpenter and stay-at-home mother of two, who used her boosted profile during the election to emphasize the importance of returning to the “fundamentals” of education, especially in areas such as math, English, history and science.

Finally, Cramer told the Sun when she was acclaimed in September, being the only person who registered to run for the division’s rural ward, that she wanted to help BSD parents better navigate the division’s disability services.

Not only does Cramer have a solid background in providing this kind of support through her work as the director of operations for the not-for-profit group St. Amant, but she has also had to seek out these services herself to accommodate her two children who are on the autism spectrum.

BSD board meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the division’s administration office.

Members of the public are welcome to take part in these meetings by attending in person or watching a live broadcast through BSD’s official website.

» The Brandon Sun