York board halves estimate for cost of trustee election
York school board’s estimate of $300,000 slashed to $162,000 as Georgina residents decide how to fill empty seat.

TheStar.com
March 19, 2017
Noor Javed

After taking weeks to come to an estimate of $300,000 for the cost of a byelection to fill the trustee seat left vacant by Nancy Elgie, the York Region District School Board now says an election can be done for half that.

Until this week, the school board used an estimate provided by the Town of Georgina from the 2014 municipal election, and suggested that a byelection would cost upwards of $300,000.

The high number shocked residents and some trustees who said they couldn’t justify such a high cost, especially when the municipal election is just a year-and-a-half away.

But this week, the Town of Georgina provided a new estimate of $162,534.

“During our analysis, we remained cognizant of concerns with respect to excessive costs and looked at efficiencies that could be realized (i.e. less voting tabulators, reduced number of advance voting locations, vote anywhere capabilities and less staffing),” wrote John Espinosa, the town clerk, in a letter the board posted online Thursday.

“We believe this new estimate to be a fair representation of costs related to the conduct of an open, transparent and fair election,” he said.

The board has yet to come to a decision on how the seat, which had been held by Elgie since 2000, will be filled. At a meeting earlier this month, trustees voted to hold community consultations to give Georgina residents a say. The consultations have been scheduled for Thursday evening, at two area high schools.

“Having a community consultation on filling a trustee vacancy is not only a first, it also respects parents who want their voices heard, especially given concerns about the board right now,” said Loralea Carruthers, the new board chair. “We’re also balancing aiming to get a trustee to represent Georgina as quickly as possible, but we want to do it in a way that engages and respects the community.”

The board has also suggested the idea of an appointment process or hiring the second runner up from the 2014 election.

Both would be significantly cheaper than a byelection.

Estimates for an appointment range from $10,000 to $60,000, if the board hires a consultant.

Both a byelection and appointment would fill the seat by the end of May.

Western University political science professor Zack Taylor says appointments at the municipal level are not unique, especially past the halfway mark in a term. In 2015-2016, the Toronto District School Board held four byelections at a cost of $1 million, according to a board spokesman.

“If you are going to have a byelection, you have to hold it with all the same rigour of a normal election, no matter what the office is,” said Taylor.

“As many people say, ‘democracy is expensive.’ ”

In the estimate provided by the town, about a third of the cost, $50,000, is for salaries during the election. Equipment rentals are pegged at about $33,000 and postage, and stationery are budgeted at $20,000 apiece.

Georgina resident Jason Koblovsky says, despite the high cost, he believes the residents deserve to have their say.

“I think the cost of a byelection at this time is a diversion,” said Koblovsky. “People are fed up with the board politics . . . and we just want our voices heard,” he said. “And because of what has happened with Elgie, there’s a lot of interest in the election . . . , so it’s a really good opportunity for the community to get out and choose the best candidate.”

Elgie resigned on Feb. 17 following months of controversy over her use of the word n----- to refer to a black parent after a public meeting in November.

In a speech posted on YouTube, the 82-year-old Elgie said she was “truly sorry for the pain my words have caused.” She blamed a head injury for causing her to confuse her words.

Since 1991, the board has filled vacancies five times, after trustees died or were elected to another public office. All of those were filled through the appointment process.

Investigators appointed by the province are weeks away from issuing their report on continuing problems within the board. These include the accusation it has ignored incidents of racism and Islamophobia. And there are questions about trustee spending and a continuing culture of fear within the board.

The report is to be completed by Apr. 7.