Pembina Trails Ward 3 school trustee candidates

Three trustees will be elected in Pembina Trails School Division’s Ward 3, which includes Fort Richmond and Waverley West.  The candidates are:

• Jasmine Brar - Brar is running to become a trustee on the Pembina Trails School Board in Ward 3. Brar lives in Waverley West and is a department administrator in the Asper School of Business at University of Manitoba. She is also the founder and chair of the Prairie Pointe Residents Group, vice-president for Indian Youth Council of Canada, and a volunteer for schools and other organizations.

According to Brar’s platform, she will advocate for the redistribution of any cost savings from a city-wide division amalgamation to go towards tools and programs for teachers and classrooms; wants full-day kindergarten; supports programs that promote inclusiveness and anti-cyberbullying initiatives; and wants more daycare spots and programs that focus on social learning through before and after school programs. Brar has two sons.

• Julie Fisher - Fisher is running for re-election to the Pembina Trails School Board in Ward 3. Fisher was first elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. Fisher is currently chair of the board of trustees and serves as vice-chair of the governing board for Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology and is a provincial trustee representative for the Manitoba Public School Employee Benefits Trust and the Aboriginal and Indigenous Education Action Planning Committee. Fisher also works in the community, serving as president of the South Winnipeg Community Center and Richmond Kings Nursery School.

Fisher’s platform includes enhanced communication with parents as the ward grows and new schools are built; specialized programming and supports for schools depending on community needs, such as the Alternative High School and Pembina Trails Early College; and says she doesn’t want to increase school taxes and will maintain staffing levels and current class sizes. She is married and has five daughters.

• Laureen Goodridge - Goodridge is running for re-election to the Pembina Trails School Board. Goodridge was first elected in 1998 to the Fort Garry School Division. She was then elected in 2002 to the Pembina Trails School Division board and has served five subsequent terms. She has served as chair and vice-chair, and on all committees of the board.

According to her campaign website, Goodridge is committed to working with schools, teachers, students and the community to achieve the highest quality educational experience possible, and to providing "educational programs in a cost-effective and fiscally responsible manner." She also wants to see expansion to serve the growing needs of Pembina Trails, and Waverley West; renewal and renovation of existing school buildings; and strong academic and technical education programs. Goodridge lives with her family in Fort Richmond.

• Alia Harb - Harb is running to become a trustee on the Pembina Trails School Board. Harb works for a local non-profit that mediates small and large disputes and has been involved with a number of community organizations including Family Mediation Manitoba, the Restorative Justice Association of Manitoba, Winnipeg Mosaic Interfaith Group, and the Manitoba Islamic Association.

Harb’s platform includes ensuring the voices of children, parents, teachers and community are heard in the decision-making process through enhanced communication; being fiscally responsible and not raising taxes while simultaneously not cutting programming; and supporting the professional development needs of teachers and school administrators. Harb has three children who attend schools in Pembina Trails.

• Laurie Lazer-McCorrie -The Sou’wester was unable to reach Lazer-McCorrie.

• Kathleen McMillan - McMillan is running for re-election to the Pembina Trails School Board. McMillan was first elected in 2014. She is a retired public servant who worked with Healthy Child Manitoba as director of finance and administration. Since being elected to the school board, McMillan has also served as the region five director for the Manitoba School Board Association executive. She currently works part-time in an administrative liaison position within the office of the Special Envoy for Military Affairs.

McMillan’s platform lists her priorities as: education reform, literacy, and renewal planning. She wants to work with government to advocate for policy and legislative changes to "strengthen the public school system and help families and communities raise children who are healthy, successful at learning, and socially secure and engaged," and enhance inclusion through the Universal Design for Learning educational framework.

• Yunusa Salami - Salami is an educator who has worked in the Pembina Trails School Division for 10 years as an educational assistant. Prior to arriving in Canada in 2008, Salami says he was a teacher and administrator with the Universal Basic Education Board in Nigeria. He has a  National Certificate in Education, his bachelor’s degree in education, and a master’s degree in international relations and strategic studies from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.

Salami said his interests are in bringing new ideas to the school board through "public-private partnership, philanthropy, parent and friends" while maximizing diversity to make Pembina Trails a more progressive school division for all.

• Cindy Nachtigall - Nachtigall is running to become a trustee with Pembina Trails School Division in Ward 3. She is the family program leader and community connector for the Fort Garry/St. Norbert Healthy Child Coalition and has a long volunteer record with community serving organizations.

Her priorities for the school division include: forming strong partnerships and proactive support through improved communication channels between home, school, and board; supporting future school planning that minimizes the need for bussing and provides the opportunity to walk, especially at the elementary level; ensuring adequate childcare spaces in the area, either on-site or through collaboration with other partners; and supporting the potential for all-day kindergarten in all Pembina Trails schools.
Nachtigall lives in the neighbourhood and has three children.

• Simon Strauman - Strauman told The Sou’wester he has withdrawn from campaigning and will let his name stand "as is" on the ballot.

— Staff