It will be a two-man race to fill Westlock’s seat on the Pembina Hills school division board.
Doug Pearson and David Truckey are the only two who put their names forward to be on the March 26 ballot. The position became open following the sudden Jan. 16 death of former board chair Doug Fleming.
Both say they have the ability to fill the role, and have different sets of experience to back that up. Furthermore, both say they decided to run for the position after residents requested it.
Pearson is no stranger to board governance, having sat on numerous volunteer organization boards around town. He has been involved with the Elks executive, and has chaired both the library board and the subdivision and appeals board.
He also has some experience, which he admits is limited, in a classroom having spent several years as a teacher’s aide with the Edmonton Public School Board.
“I’m in no way presenting myself as an authority on how things should be done, but I do know something about the background,” he said.
He also has a specific idea of what he would like to accomplish if elected — raise the test scores at R.F. Staples.
“The last standardized tests, the rating for Barrhead and other schools in Pembina Hills were at the top of the rating scale,” he said.
“Westlock was near the bottom in the province, so there’s obviously a problem there.”
Pearson said his understanding from speaking to Doug Fleming in early January is that the board is moving slowly to address the problem, but he said he would like to see more action on the issue.
“He didn’t say what the problem was and I gather he was treating it as confidential, but whatever the problem is I think it needs to be addressed more quickly than slowly,” he said.
Truckey expressed the same ideas about being able to help Pembina Hills, although he was not quite as specific in the details.
“School divisions need to raise their profile,” he said. “They themselves seem to think they don’t have a profile in the community, when in reality they’re one of the largest employers in most rural setting behind health care.”
He also emphasized the importance of preserving rural schools, something which he said would “no doubt” be a challenge for the board in coming years — something he spent a lot of time considering before putting his name forward.
“I thought about it for a little while, because it is a big commitment, and I thought I will lend a hand as best I can to Pembina Hills — they have some challenges, obviously in filling not only Doug Fleming’s shoes but they need a superintendent.”
Truckey has experience with municipal politics, having sat as a town councillor in Westlock for several terms. He is also the chair of the Westlock Foundation, and has made bids to run as both a provincial and a federal candidate.
He said the fact he is currently a sitting councillor in Westlock would not impede his ability to represent the community as a trustee, since the biggest challenge facing the division is in rural schools and not necessarily within Westlock’s boundaries.
An advance poll will be set up Saturday, March 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Westlock Outreach at 9914 107 St. in town.
Regular voting will take place at the Westlock and District Community Hall at 10711 104 Ave. from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, March 26.
