Meet the candidates for school board trustee in Ottawa's municipal election

Published: October 16, 2022 at 4:00AM EDT

Some Elections Ottawa boxes are seen in this undated file image. (CTV News Ottawa)

When Ottawa voters head to the polls on Oct. 24 to vote for mayor and councillor, they will also be marking the ballot for a school board trustee.

All electors will vote for one school board trustee for either the Ottawa Carleton District School Board, Ottawa Catholic School Board, the Conseil des ecoles catholiques du Centre-Est or the Conseil des ecoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario.

Each board has trustees who are elected to serve a four-year term, and will vote on all issues affecting the school board, including the multi-million dollar budgets.

"A trustee's role is to maintain a focus on student achievement, well-being and equity and to participate in making decisions that benefit the board's entire jurisdiction while representing the interests of their constituents," says the Ontario Public School Board Association on its website.

The Ottawa Carleton District School Board says under the Education Act, trustees are mandated to:

Promote student achievement and well-being
Deliver effective and appropriate educational programs
Develop, maintain and monitor effectiveness of school board policies
Develop, communicate and review annually a Strategic Plan
Monitor the performance of the Director of Education
Practice responsible stewardship of school board resources

Required Qualifications

The Ontario Public School Board Association says a person is qualified to be elected as a school board trustee if the person is qualified to vote in a school board election and is a resident of the school board district.

Qualifications include:

Must be a Canadian citizen
Must be a resident of the board area
At least 18 years of age

The Ottawa Carleton District School Board says candidates for trustees must be a public school tax supporter. The Ottawa Catholic School Board says candidates must be Roman Catholic and a supporter of the board.

Candidates for the CECCE and CEPEO must be a taxpayer of the school board, and your first language is French.

Trustee honoraria

The Ontario Public School Board Association says the honorarium for school board trustees ranges from $7,500 to $29,500.

The Ottawa Carleton District School Board says effective Dec. 1, 2021, the trustee honoraria is $16,743 for trustees, $21,102 for the vice chair and $25,461 for the board chair.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board says the honoraria is $13,721 for trustees, $17,338 for the vice chair and $20,955 for the board chair.