The chair and vice-chair for the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School board were kept the same, at the organizational meeting for the trustees held on Wednesday evening, the first meeting since the election held on Nov. 9. In the photo above, executive assistant LaurieAnne Bendtsen is getting the signed declarations from each of the trustees at the start of the meeting.
Weyburn trustee Bruno Tuchscherer was retained as the board chair, and Karen Melle as vice-chair, plus two new trustees were welcomed to the board at the meeting, Gil Sotto, trustees for Spruce Ridge Rural, and Beckey Franke for the City of Estevan.
Sotto was born and raised in the Philippines, and moved to Canada in 2009 after earning degrees in education and in management and supervision.
Working as the general manager of Boston Pizza in Estevan, he was asked why he wanted to be on the school board.
“At first, I just wanted to see how the trustee position works,” he said. “In Estevan, there aren’t a lot of immigrants. I think I could contribute some of what I have learned.”
He added he has a lot to learn about being a school board trustee, and said, “I’m willing to learn all those things.”
Franke was born and raised in Estevan, and was married in 1994. She has been very involved in the St. John the Baptist parish, including as part of the Lay Formation Program, and she has been to Mexico with her husband three times helping to build school there.
She noted that the prior trustee, Bev Hickie, had approached her husband about being a trustee, and he in turn supported Beckey in putting her name forward as a trustee.
“I’m just hoping to learn,” she said, noting she has two grandchildren in the school system now and two more coming. “Whatever I can do to help, I’m just in the learning process right now.”
She added that she is curious and excited to learn about the board and how it works, and where she will be able to participate.
The Holy Family trustees divided up the various committees for the coming year at the organizational meeting, including the audit committee, the governance authority for Radville School, facilities committee, teacher liaison committee, LINC negotiation committee, SEIU negotiations committee and the executive council for the Sask. Catholic School Boards Association.
