A few School District 5 trustee positions in the Elk Valley area have been filled by acclamation following the conclusion of the nomination period last week.
Fernie’s Nicole Heckendorf, Elkford’s Sarah Madsen and Alysha Clarke, who hails from Baynes Lake, have all been acclaimed for their repective areas.
Elsewhere in the Elk Valley, Sam Atwal, Hungry Baytaluke, and Cheryl Christensen are running against incumbent Bev Bellina for one trustee seat.
Notably, longtime SD5 Trustee Frank Lento recently announced his retirement after a 15 year tenure on the board.
READ: Frank Lento to retire from school board
Outside the Elk Valley, Cranbrook-based candidates will have some campaigning to do, as six candidates are running for five trustee spots.
Four incumbents are running again — Trina Ayling, Chris Johns, Doug McPhee and Wendy Turner — while Irene Bischler and Stan Chung are also vying for trustee positions.
Under the SD5 Southeast Kootenay trustee election bylaw, there are nine total trustee positions on the Board of Education — one each for Fernie, Sparwood, Elkford and Area B of the RDEK (Jaffray, Baynes Lake), while Cranbrook is allotted five trustee spots.