About 55 candidates have put their names forward for 19 trustee seats at the Simcoe County District School Board and the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board this time around, all hoping to be elected to advocate for education needs in Simcoe County.
Simcoe County public ratepayers elect trustees to a four-year term. Among other duties, school board trustees oversee the development of policies and procedures that guide school boards in their operation and help establish budgets.
As of Monday, there are three positions that have been acclaimed as candidates ran unopposed. At the public board, New Tecumseth incumbent Sarah Beitz will be serving another term. At the Catholic board, newcomer Michael D’Amelio representing Midland, Penetanguishene, Tiny, Tay was acclaimed, as was incumbent Jill Colin representing Orillia, Ramara, Severn and Oro-Medonte.
The Simcoe County District School Board is comprised of 87 elementary schools, 15 secondary schools and seven learning centres. The schools serve about 55,925 students.
The public board is governed by 12 trustees – 11 elected to represent the various municipalities of Simcoe County and one appointed to represent the county's First Nation communities
The board oversees the administration of a $654 million operating budget in 2022.
At the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, there are eight elected trustees. The board is comprised of 50 schools – 41 elementary and nine secondary schools across Simcoe County – and serves about 21,000 students.
The operating budget for the 2022-2023 school year was $298,394,673.
Voters will only vote for one of the board trustees. By default, a voter's card will include the English public board (Simcoe County District School Board), unless a voter has directed their school board taxes to a Catholic or French board.
Election day is Oct. 24.
You can confirm you are registered to vote for municipal and school board elections online at voterlookup.ca.
Candidates at the Simcoe County District School Board (11 elected seats)
Township of Adjala-Tosorontio, CFB Borden, Township of Clearview, Township of Essa
- Brandy Rafeek and Douglas Yeaman
Town of New Tecumseth
- Sarah Beitz (acclaimed)
Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury
- Debbie Connors (incumbent), Nusrat Awan and Sylvester Murray
Town of Innisfil
- Michael Cardwell, Donna Armstrong (incumbent) and Dana Stott
Township of Oro-Medonte, Township of Springwater
- Liz Grummett, Christina Meredith and Leeann Pendleton
Town of Collingwood, Town of Wasaga Beach
- Mike Foley, Al Halimic, Bob Lima, Barbara-Anne Smith and Audrey Stukas
Town of Midland, Town of Penetanguishene, Township of Tay, Township of Tiny
- Tyler Boswell (incumbent) and Robin Talbot
City of Orillia, Township of Ramara, Township of Severn
- Jodi Lloyd (incumbent) and Meghan Dunlop
City of Barrie — Wards 1, 2 and 3
- David O’Brien (incumbent), Alexis Clark, Lynn Strachan and Suzanna McCarthy
City of Barrie — Wards 4, 5 and 6
- Beth Mouratidis (incumbent), Ken Boate and Dana Powell
City of Barrie — Wards 7, 8, 9 and 10
- Steven Mallon, Sean Fitzgerald, Dani Robinson, Rob Cunningham, Kevin Berry, Lisa-Marie Wilson (incumbent) and Caitlin Morrison
Candidates at the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (8 elected seats)
Barrie (Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
- Mathew Varsava, Robert LeCollier and Susan van Amelsvoort
Barrie (Wards 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10)
- Maria Hardie (incumbent), Amanda Fellows and Ilona Zankivica-Rivera
Essa, Adjala-Tosorontio-CFB, New Tecumseth
- Janice Hutchison (incumbent) and Carla Beckett
Huntsville, Muskoka Lakes, Lake of Bays, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Georgian Bay, Parry Sound
- Joshua Boutotte and Aidan Harold
Clearview, Collingwood, Springwater, Wasaga Beach
- Diane Belvedere, Shawn Cooper, Heather Eby, Carol Fraser and Kelly-Anne Kenny
Midland, Penetanguishene, Tiny, Tay
- Michael D’Amelio (acclaimed)
Bradford West Gwillimbury, Innisfil
- Jeanny Salmon (incumbent), Tanya Da Silva and Katarina Gottfried
Orillia, Ramara, Severn, Oro-Medonte
- Jill Colin (acclaimed)
