PRINCE ALBERT - There will be a new face at the table for the Prince Albert Catholic School Division.
Darlene Slater has been declared the winner of the rural Subdivision 2 seat left vacant by the retirement of former trustee Maurice Chalifour.
Slater's win came after two calls for nomination. She was the only declared candidate making her win by acclamation. The results were made official at the board's meeting on Monday.
The by-election to replace Chalifour was originally scheduled for Feb. 6.
Slater previously ran for the seat against Chalifour in the November 2020 election. She said the loss wasn’t discouraging, and instead strengthened her commitment to Catholic education.
“I'm doing it for the same reasons: I still want to be promoting Catholic faith in our schools. I'm happy that we have the choice to have Catholic schools,” Slater said.
Slater also said the seat at the board table will allow her to put her faith into practice.
“I felt that this was my way to try and promote our faith,” she explained.
Slater decided to run for a school board seat following encouragement from a fellow parishioner at St. Mark’s Parish, who thought she would be an excellent representative. Slater also has a vested interest in the Catholic education system, since one of her grandchildren has just started school.
She is heavily involved at St. Mark's and with her children's education as they went through the system.
“I was involved the parent council while they were there all the way through,” she said.
Slater is a graduate of Ecole St. Mary High School and recently retired from working as a nurse after almost 39 years. She said that this gave her experience as an advocate for her patients.
“I feel like I bring a lot of work experience,” she said. “(I) hope that I can help be a positive role model and help with bringing the best decisions for our kids in school.”
Slater was born and raised in Prince Albert, but has lived outside the city for 12 years.
Education director Lorel Trumier said that they are excited to have Slater join the board. She will be at their next meeting on Feb. 13.
Trumier added that the previous competitive election for that seat was healthy for the division.
“We do know there are many people who want to support our Catholic education and this was no different,” she explained. “There was somebody who was willing to put their name in halfway through the term. We're looking forward to meeting Darlene, and I'm sure she'll have lots to add to our Board of Education.”
The division will have the seat of retired former trustee Albert Provost remain unfilled until the next election.
