The majority of New Westminster school trustees are backing the Yes vote in the upcoming transit referendum.
The school board held a last-minute meeting Thursday to vote on whether to join the local coalition fighting for a transit expansion plan that includes a .5 per cent PST increase to pay for $7.5-billion in transit upgrades and road improvements. Trustees voted six to one in favour of aligning with the City of New Westminster in its bid to get the referendum passed. Trustee MaryAnn Mortensen was the one to oppose endorsing the Yes position.
"I really feel that encouraging people to vote (either way) is really not the role of school trustees," she told the Record. "We are not transportation experts ... it's a discourse I would have rather seen us step aside from.
"I think telling the public how to vote, that's where I draw the line," she added.
The board held the emergency meeting to make the decision in time for a City of New Westminster press conference, which was held on Monday, pushing for a Yes vote. Mayor Jonathan Cote requested that the board join the chorus of local agencies calling for the Yes camp to win.
School board chair Jonina Campbell said they are looking at the endorsement on behalf of families, students and staff in the school district.
"There needs to be a plan, and this is the best option out there," Campbell said
The transit plan will meet the needs of the increasing population, she added.
