Electoral changes in store for Hamilton school board, but first public will get a say

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Published March 3, 2022 at 6:06 pm

The Hamilton public school board is asking for residents’ help with a math problem — how to make 11 trustees go into 15 wards.

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) has opened a public survey in regard to a potential shuffle of trustee representations for the municipal election later this year. With 11 seats for the city’s 15 wards, four pairings are needed.

At a meeting on Monday, board staff presented three options for changing the pairings. The Ontario Ministry of Education (MOE) requires a decision by April 3. Ultimately, HWDSB trustees esssentially said they did not like the three options that staff presented for changing the pairings, and preferred to allow time for a public consultation. Public comment will be open until March 12, the end of next week. The board will also ask the MOE if it is possible to keep the current pairings

“It is shaping up to be somewhat of a rushed and messy discussion that does warrant further critical analysis and evaluation,” observed trustee Cam Galindo, who represents wards 9 and 10 in Stoney Creek.

The other three current pairings are wards 1 and 2 in the lower city and lower west end, wards 8 and 14 on the west Mountain and wards 11 and 12 in Glanbrook and Ancaster. The current trustees are Elizabeth Wong (1-2), vice-chair Becky Buck (8-14) and Alex Johnstone (11-12).

While the status quo is an option, all three scenarios that staff presented called for Ward 1 and Ward 2 to have their own HWSDB trustee instead of a pairing. Those lower-city areas have a relatively high racialized and low-income population. The two wards contain 12 HWDSB schools, as opposed to just four that are part of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic board. Concomitantly, though, Hamilton’s fastest-growing areas are in suburbs and erstwhile rural areas, and twinning wards in those areas can create extra work for HWDSB’s elected officials, who aren’t full-time.

“it’s taking workload in one area and moving it to another area,” noted board chair Dawn Danko.

The other six wards that have been paired are all in consideration to remain paired, but with a different ward. Ward 13 is also being considered for a pairing.

The potential pairings that the public is asked to consider are:

  • Wards 5 & 10
  • Wards 6 & 9
  • Wards 7 & 8
  • Wards 8 & 11
  • Wards 9 & 11
  • Wards 12 & 14
  • Wards 13 & 15

The survey is accessible at ca.research.net/r/HWDSBwards.

School board elections are held simultaneously with municipal elections. Election day is Oct. 24.

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