The New Westminster school board has re-elected its chair and vice-chair to their positions for the second straight year.
Gurveen Dhaliwal will continue as board chair, while Dee Beattie remains vice-chair, following board elections held at the Nov. 23 school board meeting.
Trustee Mary Lalji, who sits as an independent in a board dominated by the New Westminster and District Labour Council-endorsed slate, put her own name forward for both the chair and vice-chair positions. Trustee Danielle Connelly, the other non-NWDLC trustee (she ran on the New West Progressives slate) also put herself forward for vice-chair.
Elections are held by secret ballot (or, in the case of the school board's virtual meeting, via secret Doodle poll), so the votes are not made public.
Lalji also tried twice more to put her name forward for elected posts – once as the board's rep for the B.C. School Trustees Association and once for the B.C. Public School Employers' Association – but was defeated both times.
Trustee Dee Beattie was elected rep for the BCSTA. Trustee Anita Ansari was elected as the alternate BCSTA rep, after trustee Maya Russell withdrew her own name from contention following a tied vote.
Russell was then elected rep for BCSPSEA, and Lalji was acclaimed as the alternate rep after being nominated by Russell.
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