The newly elected chair of the Simcoe County District School Board will have her hands full as she leads the board into uncertain times.
Jodi Lloyd, trustee for Orillia, Ramara and Severn, was elected chair at the board’s inaugural meeting Monday. She is one of five returning trustees of the 12 on the board.
In her new role, Lloyd plans to make the board’s concerns known to the Ministry of Education.
“One issue of extreme importance to our board is we haven’t had a call for capital priorities,” she said. “We’re a growth board. We need to make sure we have schools built for those students. You can only add so many portables.”
With collective agreements coming up for renewal next year, she is hopeful the “significant time of labour peace” the board has enjoyed with its employees will continue, but she acknowledges “in the era of fiscal restraint, there could be challenges around that.”
Lloyd might get the chance to present those concerns to Education Minister Lisa Thompson this weekend, when both attend an Ontario Public School Boards’ Association function.
Despite the challenges ahead, Lloyd said she is looking forward to this term.
“It’s an exciting time when you bring a new board in,” she said. “It’s a significant learning curve for our new trustees and it’s critically important that everyone gets off on the right foot. So, it’s something I was very keen to lead.”
Lloyd, who was the board’s vice-chair for the past three years, was chosen over Peter Beacock, trustee for Oro-Medonte and Springwater, on Monday night to assume the chair’s position.
“We’ve been very fortunate as a board to have Peter’s leadership for the last five years,” she said, but added it was time for a change.
Robert North, trustee for Adjala-Tosorontio, Clearview, CFB Borden and Essa, was elected vice-chair.
Elections for chair and vice-chair are held every year.
