Public meetings held by the Cariboo Chilcotin District’s Board of Education (BOE) have changed dates to accommodate new chair Angie Delainey’s schedule as a councillor for the city of Williams Lake.
Board meetings will be held on the fourth Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m. for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year, starting with the next meeting which will take place on Nov. 25. The change will allow Delainey to attend weekly city council meetings on Tuesdays, which previously conflicted with BOE meetings.
Delainey, who has been on the board for six years and a city councillor for two, was elected as chair at the board’s Oct. 22 regular meeting following Ciel Patenaude’s resignation. This was the second time Delainey requested to change the day for BOE meetings. What was previously not supported by the board has now passed after all trustees, with the exception of Linda Martens, voted in favour of the change.
“I just wanted to say thank you to the board for entertaining our request,” Delainey said prior to the vote. She said she would understand if the change was not possible or not supported and she would continue to make her schedule work either way.
It was also noted the change would benefit trustee Willow Macdonald, who Delainey said would be able to use Sundays as a travel day to better attend the monthly meetings. Macdonald also suggested changing meeting times for committees of the board so both district meetings could be held one day after the other, but acting chair Ciel Patenaude said it would have to be addressed in a future meeting as it poses significant schedule changes.
According to district bylaw B2702, BOE meetings are to be held on the fourth Tuesday of each month, or at a time agreed upon by the board. The bylaw itself has not been updated to reflect recent changes, however the board may consider doing so at a future meeting.
