Sask. school board races may be attracting more attention this year, ‘election nerd’ says | CBC News

Saskatchewan residents are heading to the polls to vote for their school board trustees, along with city councillors and mayors. 

But while the race for mayor usually gets the most attention in civic elections, school board trustee races are also sparking conversations in some communities this year, ahead of the Nov. 13 municipal elections.

David Robert Loblaw, who describes himself as an “election nerd,” tracks Regina city council and school board candidates on his website. 

“The interest level seems to be much higher,” he said. “I think this year is going to be not substantially more, but definitely more.”

In Regina, voter turnout hasn’t gone above 50 per cent in a general municipal election since 1988.

The past two municipal elections have been particularly dismal. In 2016, Regina recorded a turnout of 20 per cent. In 2020, turnout was just a little bit higher at 21 per cent. 

Saskatoon has a better track record. In 2016, turnout for its municipal election was 40 per cent, while in 2020 voter turnout fell to 27 per cent.

People will be casting their votes for their public school board division or the separate (Catholic) school board in the Nov. 13 elections, on the same ballots they will fill out for mayors and council members.  

This year, Regina’s separate school board election has 11 candidates — out of which people can vote for up to seven. With a list as long as that, Loblaw said, people should make sure they’re well-informed of who the candidates are before they mark their ballots.

“It truly is a daunting task when you have an at-large system like the separate school board, you really have to be on your own to figure out the candidates and what they sent to your house,” he said. 

WATCH: Sex education and gender issues are piquing interest in school board trustee elections: 

Sex education and gender issues are piquing interest in school board trustee elections

Some people say they’re motivated by polarizing issues in education to vote in the municipal election because school board trustees are on the ballot too. Parental rights and gender and sexual identity are core issues for some candidates.

Jaimie Smith-Windsor, president of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, said people need to vote because of the role that trustees play. 

“It’s incredibly important to go out and vote for your school board trustees. School boards are one of the oldest democratic traditions in Saskatchewan, one of the oldest forms of democracy,” she said. 

The province funds education in Saskatchewan, but Smith-Windsor said school boards are tasked with decision-making responsibilities to develop local programs unique to their schools, after consultation with their communities.

School boards are also responsible for fiscal oversight of the dollars that are given to them through the education budget.

External organizations weigh in 

Candidate endorsements from outside organizations are adding to the chatter around school board trustee elections, such as in the form of targeted campaigns for certain candidates from Advance Regina or Common Sense Regina.

Regina Civic Awareness and Action Network, a group supporting seven school trustee candidates in the upcoming election, opposes diversity, inclusion and pro-2SLGBTQ+ initiatives in schools.

Loblaw said such organizations coming into the fray for school board elections is fairly new. One of the reasons for increased activity, Loblaw said, could be the Parents’ Bill of Rights that requires parental consent before a child under the age of 16 can use a different gender-related name or pronoun at school. 

“That seems to be the big issue for the public school board election because a lot of the candidates are on one side or the other,” he said.

Smith-Windsor said the “biggest thing” that school boards and trustees do is they provide non-partisan decision making. However, she said she’s certainly seen more external organizations endorsing certain candidates.

“We are hearing that there is this trend towards the increasing politicization and polarization of education,” she said. “We do see that. I think it falls to our collective understanding about what school board governance is.”

Nadine Zettl, a Ward 9 public school candidate in Saskatoon, said her first campaign has been “eye-opening.” She said she is worried about third-party endorsements for school board candidates.

“I think ultimately, voters need to go find the information directly from the source and don’t rely on other people to tell you how to vote,” she said. 

Information about all the candidates is available online on cities’ websites.