General voting day in the upcoming school district election is Oct. 15, 2022.
We asked candidates to submit 300-word responses answering the question: Why residents should vote for you?
Here are their responses, in alphabetical order:
Brandie Nunn
My name is Brandie Nunn, and I’m excited to be running for school trustee in the City of Grand Forks. I am the parent of four boys that are, or have been, students of School District 51. Two of my children are at GFSS and my youngest is in Grade 4 at Perley Elementary. I am invested in my children’s education, and I hope to be a strong advocate for all students in our school district. I will work hard with the other trustees on the Board to ensure that the social, emotional, and educational needs of all students remain the top priority.
I also care deeply about our community. I have owned a licensed day care, been a foster parent for The Ministry of Children and Family Development, and have been the Vice President of the Hutton PAC. I worked in health care for 20 years in various positions from Community Support worker, Mental Health and Addictions, Rehabilitation, Extended Care and Home Support. I am currently a Veterinarian Assistant at our local veterinarian office.
I have also had a wide breadth of experience on boards and in other governance positions. I was on the Board of Directors for Little People’s Centre Daycare, and I served four years as a Board Director for Boundary Family and Individual Services, including a time as Treasurer. I was the Chief Shop Steward, Vice President, and Treasurer of our Local Hospital Employees’ Union for four years, and the Alternate Regional Provincial Vice President of the Hospital Employees’ Union. I was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Grand Forks District Credit Union.
In all these various positions I have taken courses to learn how to best represent and support peoples’ social, economic, spiritual, and unique educational needs. Through my experience as a Director for the Credit Union, as well a Treasurer in our local Unions and for Boundary Family and Individual Services, I have learned the financial aspects of an organization, including annual budgets and allocation of funds.
I am a dedicated advocate for children and their education. As a school trustee I will represent the unique needs of the community of Grand Forks, and ensure that the needs of all students remain the focus.
Jaime Massey
My name is Jaime Massey, and I am seeking re-election as a School Trustee in the City of Grand forks.
I am a long-time resident of Grand forks, being raised and living here for the last 40+ years.
I am fortunate to have been a School Trustee in School District #51 (Boundary) for the last 4 years. I have learned a great deal during my last term.
In my time as Trustee in School District #51 (Boundary) I have been a representative in multiple committees including the Recreation Commission, the Boundary Indigenous Education Advisory Committee, Trustee representative to the Perley Elementary School PAC. I have had the pleasure of being a part of our Strategic plan “Dream Team” and was recently elected our branch representative to the Professional Learning Committee for a second time as well as serving my second time as SD #51 (Boundary) Vice-Chair.
I am passionate about giving a voice to students who are perhaps neurodivergent learners, struggling with mental health issues or students who have an indigenous background. I am passionate about supporting students with diverse abilities, those who are part of our LGBTQ2S community and those who struggle with Food security. The list grows each year, with each student whose story I hear, whose parent I speak with or whose invested teaching team I connect with.
When you vote Jaime Massey for School Trustee, you are choosing:
- · Compassionate leadership
- · 110% Commitment and engagement
- · Student Centered Focus
- · Equity and Inclusion minded
- · Reflection of Student voice
- · Community engagement focused
- · A Growth Mindset
Our Students hold our Futures in their hands, thank you for considering my name when thinking of those who can support our students best.
James Wilson
My name is James Wilson and I am proud to call Grand Forks my home for the past 16 years with my wife and our 5 children, all of whom attended School in District 51 since Kindergarten. I have had a wide variety of experiences on boards and in other governance positions such as President of the Grand Forks Rotary Club, Executive Director, and Board chair of the BCRCC.
As your Trustees, I value transparency and working together with a diversity of partners including parents, board colleagues, school staff, community groups, professionals, and most of all our students. This engagement needs to be conscientious and respectful to truly be effective.
I am a calm and reasonable thinker and see the value in working as a team to address issues.
I believe in a positive outlook, working respectfully, and maintaining a strong focus on students’ needs. I offer my experience, my voice, and my commitment to our student and their education. As your Grand Forks school trustee, I will dedicate myself to putting the student’s success first in all that I do.
What I stand for:
- I am committed to creating conditions of excellence so all of our students can flourish, by increasing pathways to red seal trades, health care field, workplace skills training, entrepreneurship, personal finance, civic service, and emerging fields
- I’d like to see our district develop a conscientious, respectful, and measured approach to stakeholder/partner engagement. This is essential to us gathering the data we need to make evidence-based decisions concerning our students.
- Related, I’d like us to take on more advocacy at the provincial level regarding those needs. And, of course, there is the important role trustees play when it comes to budgeting and strong financial oversight.
Thank you for your vote.
Larisa Van Marck
I am Larisa Van Marck and I am running for the position of SD51 School Trustee - City of Grand Forks. This is a position I have held for the last four years and am seeking another four-year term.
I believe that I still have a lot of purposeful work to do as a school trustee and I feel I am just getting started on this work. Implementation of our current District Strategic Plan is vital to make our kids successful and I want to see our hard work through. I want to always have our kids in mind when making board decisions and keep focusing on our following Strategic Directions: Equity, Inclusion and Belonging – Student Voice and Agency – Wellness and Resilience – and Community Connections.
If I am elected to serve another four years as school trustee, my focus will lie with continuing the district’s food for students and families program as well as making sure the breakfast and lunch programs continue in all our schools. No child should start their school day hungry and in our school district we will always have funding for food programs.
I will continue to support our outdoor education program. Getting kids outdoors to learn makes them more engaged in learning and helps them connect and respect their environment and their communities. I am proud to say that SD51 is one of the first districts in B.C. to have a full-time outdoor education teacher.
I believe in an inclusive education. I want to ensure that ALL of our students experience belonging, safety and security in our schools regardless of their race, sex or gender.
Our kids are our future and I believe the responsibility rests with our schools to develop and shape this future.
Mark Danyluk -Village of Midway
My name is Mark Danyluk and I am offering to serve a third term in the role of School Trustee.
The reason I am running and the reason I invite you to vote for me is so that I can continue bring my experience and skillset to the Board team. I want to be a part of creating opportunities for “nurturing curiosity, resilience, and joy in all” in order “to ensure that our students flourish today so that they can build a confident future”.
My experience with our district started 20 years ago when we moved here with our 4 children. As parents we strongly believed that we should be involved in our schools. For me that meant helping in a variety of ways: lunches, special days, field trips, fund-raising, supporting staff, being an active member of PAC, noon-hour supervision, co-teaching “Respectful Relationships” (an anti-bullying program at 4 schools), as well as being active as a parent at the School Board level.
That experience came together in 2014 when I was asked if I would run for School Trustee. I agreed and have served in this role since. Through these years my experience and understanding has continued to grow.
I also bring a skillset that is well suited to the position of Trustee. I am someone who is an includer, positive, a restorer, a connector, and a developer - traits that others have affirmed in me. In addition, I listen well and ask good questions seeking to understand all sides of the many decisions that the Board must make.
Should you re-elect me, I will seek to continue to do make the best decisions for our children’s education.
