Familiar faces return to School District Board, joined by two newcomers to the work ahead

There will be few changes to be found at the next School District 52 Board meeting after the 2018 vote count Saturday night, as all but one incumbent were returned to office, joined by two new names set to provide guidance over the next four years.

The 2018 vote totals saw Tina Last, Bart Kuntz, James Horne and Louisa Sanchez all find success in their re-election campaigns, with Kate Toye and Kristy Maier both resonating with voters to claim the final two positions.

The results leave Terri-Lynne Huddlestone as the lone incumbent not to return for another four year term.

The top vote getter was Ms. Toye who ran an energetic campaign and built upon her already known presence in education to valut to the top of the count listings with 1,838 votes.

Kristy Maier, who also ran a very engaged campaign found success as well, came up just under 1,100 votes when the ballots were counted.

The results of the rural race from Port Edward saw Janet Beil reelected to office, receiving 124 votes

The results mean that for the first time since 2015, the School District board will sit with a full complement of elected officials, after having spent the last three years down one member following the resignation of Judy Carlick-Pearson in her first term.

Many issues lay ahead for the new board of education, which will have to quickly jump into Budget preparation work and to steer ahead some long range planning for a replacement for the Prince Rupert Middle School. 

The School District will also have to try and find some common ground with the new Prince Rupert City Council as they look to sell the large parcel of land at the old Kanata school site, a process that saw one potential buyer walk away after a disagreement with the city over zoning requirements,

For a look at some of the items of note from School District 52 see our archive page here.