TRUSTEE ELECTIONS

The Board of Education recognizes that during a period of trustee elections caution must be exercised to ensure that trustee candidates cannot have nor be perceived to have any unfair advantages due to connections to schools.  This goes for candidates currently serving as trustees and candidates who might otherwise have connections to the schools where those connections may provide them with privileged opportunities to engage in election-related discussions or be perceived as providing an unfair advantage during campaigning.

The Board of Education supports fair campaigning during trustee elections and as such supports the use of school facilities for community led events such as all-candidates meetings.  The Board is committed to the principle that other than through all-candidates meetings it is inappropriate for any trustee candidate, including sitting trustees, to undertake any campaigning or campaign related work in schools or on school property during an election campaign.

• For the purposes of this policy trustee candidates include sitting trustees who are running for re-election.
• Trustee candidate visits to schools are not considered appropriate during an election campaign unless for non-election purposes.
• A trustee candidate who is in a school for non-election purposes should not engage in election-related conversations or processes, and should only be introduced by name, although a sitting trustee may be introduced as a trustee.
• Campaign events such as all-candidates meetings may be held in schools but only if organized through the community use department by community agencies or district partner groups.
• The Board supports the hosting of all-candidates meetings by student groups in support of students learning about the democratic process and issues related to public education governance.

The Board is committed to there being no board election campaign materials of any kind posted in schools or on school property, or distributed through any school communication, although it is appropriate to share information about the election and to encourage people to become informed and vote.