Edmonton public school trustees face increased workload after another resignation
Marcia Hole resigned as trustee for Ward C last week
Trustees at the Edmonton Public School Board are once again divvying up the workload after another resignation.
Marcia Hole resigned as trustee for Ward C on Friday. In a statement posted on social media, she cited the political climate and the erosion of school board autonomy as the reasons for her departure.
It's the second resignation from the board this year. Trisha Estabrooks stepped down from Ward D in January to join striking educational support workers on the picket line. She's also set to run for the NDP in Edmonton Centre during the next federal election.
The school division's Ward H has been empty since Nathan Ip was elected to the legislature in May 2023.
After a school board meeting Tuesday, board chair Julie Kusiek offered reassurances that the remaining trustees can get the work done.
"We can absolutely continue to do our work," Kusiek told reporters. "And so as a board of trustees, we've come together and we figure out a way to cover for the wards where the trustee vacated."
Kusiek said she has taken on the responsibilities for Ward D while trustees Dawn Hancock of Ward E and Sherri O'Keefe of Ward A will represent Ward C.
Jan Sawyer, who represents Ward I, is also responsible for Ip's duties.
The remaining trustees do not have an easy road ahead.
Kusiek said a funding increase in the proposed provincial budget is a move in the right direction but more money is needed because of the growth of enrolment.
The division is also trying to figure out how to carry out a court-ordered revised ministerial order to make efforts to provide in-person learning options to as many students as possible during the support workers' strike that has dragged into its eighth week.
"We are working our very best to overturn every rock to see what we can do to try to resolve the situation and get things back to normal in our schools and in our classrooms as soon as possible," Kusiek said.
The resignations of Hole and Estabrooks don't come as a surprise to Bridget Stirling. The former trustee with the public school division told CBC's Edmonton AM it's a difficult time to serve on a school board.
"I think that there have been some problems internally with Edmonton public for a while," Stirling said.
"And then I think when you combine that with the strike and the political pressure from this government, it really has created an atmosphere that's really become intolerable for some people in terms of their ability to speak freely and represent their constituents."
With files from Sarah Reid