Red Deer Catholic school board to discuss by-election on Jan. 26

According to Section 81 of the Education Act, the school division is not required to hold a by-election in the current scenario.

Though Section 81(1) states that the board shall make provision to fill a vacancy by holding a by-election, Section 81(2)(a) states that if the board still has six trustees (which it does), and the vacancy is occurring during the first three years after an election (which it is), a by-election does not need to be held if there’s only one vacancy (which there is).

Interestingly, by-election rules are similar but not entirely identical to what’s required for municipalities in the case of a vacancy, even though municipal and school board elections occur simultaneously.

The City of Red Deer is in the midst of putting on a by-election, for very different reasons, but Sections 162 and 165 of the Municipal Government Act stipulate that it does hold a by-election within 120 days of the vacancy occurring, and taking into account the timing of the vacancy.

Friday, the division posted its agenda for next week’s meeting, noting that it could enter into an agreement with The City to run its by-election, as it has previously. The City says it hasn’t yet been approached. The agenda notes that if an agreement can’t be made with The City, the division would be responsible to run it.

Potentially complicating matters on the LaGrange front is her ongoing court case against Red Deer Catholic.

In a previous interview with rdnewsNOW, LaGrange’s counsel James Kitchen stated that she’d like the board’s decision against her to be overturned, and for her to be reinstated as a trustee.

The next election won’t be until fall 2025, but what would occur if the school division held a by-election and then LaGrange was also reinstated is unknown.

The aforementioned agenda has a section on risks, which notes, “The most significant risk at this time is the uncertainty of the judicial review process. This process is ongoing and the results are uncertain at this time.”

Under ‘benefits’, it points out that having a full slate of trustees would ensure sharing representation on committees and as school liaisons, as well as additional input during board meetings.

LaGrange’s judicial review process began Jan. 10 in Court of King’s Bench at Red Deer Provincial Courthouse. It was adjourned to Jan. 19, and then put over to May 1-3 for what will be a multi-day hearing where each lawyer will argue before a judge based on existing record only. There is no new evidence, witnesses, nor testimony given like in a trial, Kitchen clarifies.

Meantime, Jeff Park, executive director of the Alberta Parents’ Union, says Red Deer Catholic should hold a by-election, regardless of what the Education Act says.

“The Alberta Parents’ Union is a grassroots organization of almost 30,000 parents of children in K-12, along with many interested grandparents, taxpayers and educators that launched in May 2022, in Calgary,” says Park. “From almost our inception, we have been opposing the increasingly common practice of parents being left unrepresented when school trustees are forced to resign or are removed and have been calling for by-elections to fill these vacancies.”

Park says Red Deer Catholic must be accountable to all constituents. Red Deer Catholic elects trustees to represent wards, LaGrange having been one of five elected to represent Red Deer. There’s also one each for Caroline, Eckville, Rocky Mountain House and Sylvan Lake and Bowden, Didsbury, Innisfail and Olds. Red Deer Catholic’s agenda notes that if a by-election were held, the winner would be elected as an at-large trustee.

In a recent blog post on the Alberta Parents’ Union’s website, it’s noted that Elk Island Public Schools is also not holding a by-election following a trustee’s recent removal, and that follows other vacancies left open in Calgary and Edmonton over the last year and a bit.

The cost of a by-election are uncertain, though the board’s agenda notes, without taking into account inflation, that a by-election in 2019 saw the division pay The City just under $14,000 to manage it.

The recommendation to the board is to proceed without a by-election.

rdnewsNOW has inquired with the province on why by-election legislation is different between the Education Act and Municipal Government Act, and will update this story if we receive an answer.

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