Petrolia’s mayor wants school boards to start footing the bill for the election of trustees.

School board trustees for all four of the province’s systems are elected during the municipal elections and are run by the local clerks. School boards have never contributed to the cost of running the election.

When the municipality has a race for councillors, the costs are not often seen, but when the municipal candidates are acclaimed, the communities must still run an election for those trustee position.

That was the case in Dawn-Euphemia this year. Clerk-Administrator Donna Clermont told council Monday running the election for trustees cost the municipality over $12,000 using the vote by mail system.

While Petrolia had a full slate of candidates for municipal council, Mayor Brad Loosley is still concerned the school boards aren’t paying their fair share. He’ll ask council to get behind his plan ask the province to make “school boards become responsible for conducting their own trustee elections or at minimum municipalities be compensated by the school boards for overseeing such trustee elections.”

Loosley also hopes to get the local MPP, Bob Bailey, behind the move.
He’ll ask council to consider the idea Dec. 12.