Call for Nominations for OPSBA Elected Positions 2020

The OPSBA 2020 elections will be held as part of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which will take place on September 26, 2020 by video conference.

All nominations received by the nomination deadline of 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 27, 2020, will be published in the OPSBA Election Handbook.

Executive Positions

Positions to be decided through the election process at the Annual General Meeting and at the accompanying regional meetings are as follows:

  • President;
  • First Vice-President;
  • Second Vice-President;
  • Regional Chair and Regional Vice-Chair of each of the five OPSBA regions: Central East, Central West, Eastern, Northern, and Western.

Please note the following important guidelines if you are considering running for:
President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President or Regional Chair

  • The deadline for nominations for these Executive Council positions is 30 days prior to the AGM where the elections will be held. This means that nominations for President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President and the Regional Chairs must be received at the OPSBA office by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 27, 2020 – the nomination deadline.
  • If a candidate is interested in standing for more than one of the above-noted positions, the candidate must declare his or her interest in each respective position by the nomination deadline. This is very important, as there is no opportunity for “dropping down” on the day that elections are held at the AGM (i.e., being considered for another of these positions if a candidate is unsuccessful for the first). Nominations are only accepted from the floor of the AGM if no advance nomination has been received for the position of President, First Vice-President and Second Vice-President.
  • As well, nominations for Regional Chair for each of the five regions must be submitted by the same deadline–August 27. Nominations will ONLY be accepted from the floor of each Regional Council election meeting if no nomination for that Region’s Regional Chair position has been received in advance.

Nominations for Regional Vice-Chairs and Members of Core Issue Work Groups

  • The nomination and election process for the position of Regional Vice-Chair (alternate to the Regional Chair) or representatives on the Work Groups (Education Program and Policy Development) permits nominations to be taken from the floor of the regional meeting. However, advance nominations and bios for these positions are encouraged as those provided by Thursday, August 27, 2020 will be included in the AGM Election Handbook which is distributed to boards and voting delegates prior to the election. The nominee information will also be posted on the OPSBA website.
  • There is a requirement that candidates for the position of Regional Vice-Chair must be a confirmed member of the incoming Board of Directors. Prior to holding the election of the Regional Vice-Chair, each Board’s Voting Delegate will be asked to confirm their board’s appointment(s) to Board of Directors to ensure candidates qualify to stand for election.

Nominations, Nomination Forms and Biographies

  • The 2020 Election Nomination Form, the Candidates’ Election Guide and the OPSBA Roles and Responsibilities Guide are available on the AGM page of the OPSBA site.
  • Nominations can be made by any trustee from a member board in good standing once they have confirmed the nominee is willing to stand for the elected position.
  • Trustees running for election are asked to ensure that their nomination form and a brief biography, in an electronic format, are submitted to the OPSBA office no later than end of day Thursday, August 27, 2020. A biography should be no longer than one page in length (for consistent formatting) and include the candidate’s photograph. This information will be printed in the AGM Election Guide, which is distributed to member boards so they can review the slate of candidates running for various positions and provide guidance to their voting delegates.
  • Information on the candidates running for the various positions will also be posted on the OPSBA website after the nomination deadline.

Confirmation of Board of Directors Members and Elections to Core Issue Work Groups

  • At the Regional meetings held during the Annual General Meeting and Conference, member boards confirm their Board’s member (and alternate) to OPSBA’s Board of Directors for the 2020-2021 term.
  • School authorities have an opportunity to elect one representative to the Board of Directors at a specially convened meeting of district school area boards at the AGM.
  • The Indigenous Trustees’ Council members meet prior to the AGM regional meetings in order to elect their representative on the Board of Directors.
  • Confirmation is received in writing prior to the AGM from the group of treatment center school authorities naming their representative and alternate on the Board of Directors for the upcoming year.
  • During the Regional Meetings, each region holds elections to choose their members and alternate members to the Education Program and Policy Development Core Issues Work Groups for 2020-2021. Northern Sub-Region East and Northern Sub-Region West each elect one representative and one alternate to the two work groups.

Note: All Election material will be available on the AGM page of the OPSBA website.

For more information: Jane Hayes, Executive Coordinator, ext.108; or email Webmaster