All public school division supporters in the Weyburn and surrounding area have an extremely important vote coming up on Wednesday, June 15, namely the vote for the trustees for the new huge Southeast School Division.

As the name denotes, this new board will amalgamate all public school boards in the southeast, including the Sunrise and South Central School Divisions in the Weyburn area. The new division will be huge, nearly as large as the federal riding of Souris-Moose Mountain, extending from Ogema and Minton in the west all the way east to the Manitoba border, south to the U.S. border, and north to the Trans-Canada Highway, up to Rocanville on the eastern side.

The sad part of this major amalgamation is the government's complete disregard for the principles of democracy, in that no one wants this board; it is being forced upon us, the ratepayers to our school boards, whether we want it or not.

Unless an injunction can be filed in time, the election is going ahead, and it is in the best interests of all ratepayers to know who the candidates are. For the city of Weyburn, there are two trustee positions with six candidates in the running.

For Subdivision 6 west of Weyburn, there are five candidates, and in Subdivision 5, east of Weyburn, there are two candidates.

If voters, are fearful that they are losing local autonomy of their schools and school boards, they should be - and, they should be asking their candidates where they stand, and how they will represent our city on this 10-person board.

What about the controversial facilities review of Weyburn area schools? This will presumably be sent on to the new Southeast board: where do the candidates stand on such recommendations as merging our excellent junior high program in with the Comprehensive School, and closing Haig and Souris and merging them in one school, the junior high school building?

There will be one all-candidates forum for the city candidates, unfortunately set for Tuesday, June 7. This will not serve the voters' interests, as we cannot report on it until June 15, the day of the election. Thus, voters would be well advised to attend the candidates' meeting if at all possible to hear the questions and responses from the candidates who want to represent this city on the board.

Mid-June is admittedly a very busy time of year, particularly for families with school-aged children; many schools have year-end activities and programs going right through to the end of June, not to mention such extra activities as minor soccer, minor ball, swimming lessons, dance lessons, etc.

With this in mind, voters should try to take the five or 10 minutes it would take to cast a ballot and do so; the new board will be the ones overseeing their child's school (unless it's a Catholic school). Who we vote in will help shape what kind of funding and policies will be in place for that school. The worst thing that could happen is for area residents to be apathetic about the new board and who is elected to represent us. - G.N.