Pembina Trails Ward 2 school trustee candidates

School trustees throughout Winnipeg are up for election on Oct. 24.

Three trustees will be elected in Pembina Trails School Division’s Ward 2, which includes Tuxedo, Whyte Ridge, Linden Woods, and Fort Garry.  The candidates are:

• Sheila Billinghurst  - Billinghurst is running for re-election to the Pembina Trails School Board in Ward 2. The Tuxedo resident and retired educator was first elected in 2014 and has sat on various committees, including finance and education. Billinghurst taught Grades 3 to 12 in the Winnipeg School Division, served as a principal and administrator, and worked at Red River College and the Adult Centre. She was also a faculty advisor in the University of Manitoba’s faculty of education for eight years.

Among her priorities as a school trustee are ensuring all persons are able to read, write and are proficient in numerics and supports early years learning programs to achieve those outcomes; eradicating bullying in schools and supporting anti-bullying programs such as the Red Cross Pink Shirt Day; maintaining small class sizes, in line with school division’s already established guidelines; and keeping school taxes consistent without reducing current staffing and programming in schools.

• Andrew Harder - Harder is running to become a school trustee in Pembina Trails School Division in Ward 2. The long time resident of the division is a teacher and coach at St. Paul’s High School and has worked in education for 18 years. He has two degrees, in economics and education.

His children currently attend public school in Pembina Trails. Harder says he is an active volunteer soccer and hockey coach in the community who knows the parents and their concerns. His platform includes working for manageable class sizes, proper and essential staffing, and maintaining and improving on the current infrastructure.

Harder says he is an advocate of lifelong learning and will bring a new voice and new ideas to the division.

• David Johnson - David Johnson is running for re-election to the Pembina Trails School Board. He was first elected in 2002 and re-elected to serve three subsequent terms. During that time, he has served as chair, vice chair, and has been a member of all the board’s standing committees. He is currently finance chair.

According to Johnson’s platform, he wants the province to increase funding from 60 to 80 per cent of the division’s operating costs; is a supporter of the division’s International Student Program; wants open communication between parents and the division; wants to "provide teachers and administrators with the support and authority that they need to take appropriate action" against violence and bullying; supports French Immersion as an essential program; and supports the class size guidelines already established by the division.

Johnson lives in Fort Garry with his wife Katherine and sons Magnus and Eric.

• Tim Johnson - Johnson is running for re-election to the Pembina Trails School Division board in Ward 2. He was first elected in 2006 and served two subsequent terms. Two of Johnson’s four children have graduated from schools in Pembina Trails while two are currently attending Shaftesbury High School and Vincent Massey Collegiate.

Johnson, who graduated from the University of Manitoba’s faculty of management, has worked for Manitoba Hydro for over 25 years. Johnson said he has a strong background in employment and training programs, financial and human resource management and project management. The incumbent trustee’s platform is focused on delivering education that provides students with the learning experiences and knowledge they need to develop their potential while in school and to assume a role as productive citizens entering post-secondary education and the workforce.

• Sukh Singh - Singh is running to become a school trustee in Pembina Trails School Division Ward 2. Singh is a graduate of Silver Heights Collegiate who went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Manitoba. Singh, whose child is entering elementary school soon, said he has a deep interest in the decisions made by the school division and how those decisions impact education. Singh hopes to ensure the division provides students with the learning experiences and knowledge they need to develop their potential while in school. He lives with his wife and two children in Linden Woods.