MELFORT — A trustee representing Melfort has resigned – and the school division has decided not to replace him in a byelection.
Todd Goudy was one of two Melfort trustees. He resigned because he was elected as the MLA for Melfort. For the Northeast’s three major centres, that leaves one Melfort trustee, two Nipawin trustees and one Tisdale trustee. The next regular election is in the fall of 2020.
“There would be a cost involved in having a byelection and we’re pretty close to an election for our new board, so we feel very well represented in our member Randy [Ariss],” said Luke Perkins, the division’s chair, at the school board April 24 meeting. “I think he’s doing a pretty good job representing Melfort, so we don’t have a concern there.”
The move also opens the door to reducing the number of members on the 10-member school board. That would have to come with redistricting the boundaries of the areas that each trustee represents.
“That is due diligence on our part,” Perkins said. “Since we’ve had 10 trustees, enrolment numbers have been down. We have consolidated some schools. It’s something that should be looked at from time to time.”
The chair added that if staying with 10 trustees is the best decision, that’s the one they’ll make.
