BRANDON — Three new trustees and one incumbent have been elected to the Dauphin-based Mountain View School Division, which has been beset by allegations of racism, resignations and an intervention by the education minister.
The controversy stemmed from a presentation by trustee Paul Coffey in April that was called racist by Indigenous groups. He had said residential schools had started as a positive venture. That led to calls for Coffey to resign and for the entire board to be dissolved. Shortly after Coffey’s resignation, the board fired superintendent Stephen Jaddock. That sparked the resignation of trustees Floyd Martens, Leifa Misko and Scott McCallum in June. Then, the education minister assigned a panel to oversee the board.
Only Martens ran in Wednesday’s byelection. The winners were: Martens (203 votes) and Conrad Nabess (130 votes) in Ward 1 (Roblin), Scott Lynxleg with 255 votes in Ward 2 (Grandview-Gilbert Plains-Ethelbert), and Jarri Thompson with 307 votes in Ward 4 (Dauphin).
Martens told the Brandon Sun the board will need to rebuild trust with the community.
“I hope that we’ll focus on the things that matter most and that trust will be regained if it’s been lost. I intend to direct the board’s energy towards what’s most important to the students and families.”
Martens said while he does not know all the new trustees personally, he is hopeful fresh perspectives will be a positive addition.
Lynxleg, a member of the Tootinaowaziibeeng First Nation, said he is committed to fostering truth and reconciliation, championing inclusivity and restoring confidence among division staff.
“Truth is the first word in truth and reconciliation,” Lynxleg said. “The real facts, the history that hasn’t been presented factually — that’s something I’d like to see fully explored. My daughter and grandchildren attend schools in the division, and I feel a personal connection to my work with the board and am deeply invested in seeing it serve students well.”
In September, the board voted to allow only the Canadian, provincial and school flags to be displayed on school grounds.
As an advocate for treaty awareness, Lynxleg said flags mean symbolism and representation.
“I work for Treaty Two, and my job is internal, and external relations. I go out and do reconciliation and treaty awareness, which includes presenting flags… When you see a Canada flag, you know which country you’re in,” Lynxleg said.
“If you see a Treaty 2 flag, it’s a recognition of where you are and an acknowledgment of treaty land. I have a different opinion on that, but I guess that will be addressed sometime down the road.”
His primary focus is to create a welcoming and respectful environment for students.
“Kids just want to go to school, have fun, learn, and make friends and that’s all we want for them.”
The division’s senior electoral officer, Kirk Dawson, said voter turnout was higher than average.
The voting process, he said, was “very smooth,” with only minor “hiccups” typical of such elections.
“Turnout was extremely good compared to a lot of school division byelections. They can average in five to six per cent, and we had about 11 per cent, so a good turnout with preliminary results indicating approximately 1,208 ballots cast,” he said.
Another indicator of public interest was the presence of races in all three wards, in contrast to the previous byelection, where two of the four wards went uncontested.
“There was nothing by acclamation … so, yeah, that was a very healthy, healthy process.”
Regarding the hiccups, Dawson said, some voters expressed confusion over eligibility rules, particularly regarding residency requirements.
Some property owners mistakenly believed that land ownership alone qualified them to vote in division elections, he said, which was clarified during the process.
Dawson emphasized the importance of restoring MVSD’s board to full capacity.
“… It is very healthy to have a full board of trustees back in place and I expect a lot of healthy conversations moving forward,” he said.
— Brandon Sun