4 incumbents keep seats in Beautiful Plains division

Four trustees have retained their seats on the Beautiful Plains School Division (BPSD) board, while two new faces are expected to join for the next term.

Vice-chair Garth Hunter, Kathleen Guillas, Susan Kohinski and Yvonne Sisley secured the four available positions in the Oct. 28 election, defeating challenger Rey Toews.

According to the official results, Guillas received the highest number of votes with 744, followed by Sisley with 715, Hunter with 701 and Kohinski with 673. Toews finished with 361 votes.

The election was the first contested trustee election in the division since 2018, when Ward 1 – Carberry and Area went to the polls, division’s senior election official Shannon Bayes said.

“In 2022, all trustees were elected by acclamation,” said Bayes, who is also the division’s secretary-treasurer.

“So in 2026, Ward 1 had three trustee positions available, with all candidates elected by acclamation. They were incumbent board chair Richard Manns, Lavern Biehn and Randy MacDonald.”

Although the division had a contested election this year, voter turnout was lower than in the previous election in Ward 2 in 2014, Bayes said.

“In 2026, our voter turnout was just under 24 per cent, and for 2014, it was about 36 per cent. So voter turnout is down,” she said. “2014 was the closest comparison because the division did not have a contested election in 2022.”

The new board will have two new trustees, with one new representative joining from each ward. Bayes said the administration is prepared to work with the incoming trustees as they become familiar with their responsibilities and the division’s operations.

“We’ll have two new faces: one in Ward 1 and one in Ward 2,” she said.

Asked whether the administration was looking forward to working with the new board members, Bayes said changes in board membership were welcome.

“We’re always looking forward to working with our board. You know, changes in our board are okay too,” she said.

With the election completed, the immediate priority for the division’s senior administration will be preparing the incoming trustees for their roles through an orientation.

“Next, we will focus on trustee orientation,” Bayes said. “With two new trustees, it will be important to make sure that we give them the basics to help with them becoming familiar with the division.”

She said the orientation would be followed by the inaugural board meeting.

“And then we have the inaugural meeting, where all the trustees will need to take the oaths again and make the usual decisions at this time of year,” Bayes said. “Those are the most urgent things, I guess, at this point in time.”

The returning trustees will join their new colleagues as the division prepares for the next board term, with the administration focused on ensuring all members understand the division and their roles in its governance, Bayes said.

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