Longtime school board trustee Candace Spilsbury has been chosen to remain chair of the board in the Cowichan Valley School District.
Trustees also elected Johanne Kemmler as vice chair at a board meeting on Nov. 3.
While trustees serve four-year terms after being voted in during a general election, each year there is a vote among trustees for the school board’s executive members.
This is Spilsbury’s fourth term as a trustee and 10th term as board chair.
Kemmler, who has been a trustee since her election to the board in 2018, is new to the executive.
A press release from the Cowichan Valley School District’s Board of Education said the last four years has seen many successes, including the launching of the new strategic plan, called Beyond Education, the development and launch of a new logo, navigating the uncertain times that COVID-19 has brought, and the announcement of a new Cowichan Secondary School.
The board has also appointed the province’s first full-time district elder and knowledge keeper, refocused efforts to bring mental health, inclusion, and Indigenous understandings into professional development, and successfully increased childcare spaces and early learning opportunities in the district.
“As a board, we are proud of the work that we have done over the last number of years,” Spilsbury said.
“Our board continues to work hard for the students, staff and community. I want to thank and acknowledge trustee Barb de Groot’s service to the board as vice-chair for the last number of years and welcome vice-chair Kemmler to this new position.”