representation

Trustees with the Rainy River District School Board are being asked to declare the west end of the district as a “low population area.”

It is a move that allows for three trustees to be elected in the area between Alberton and Rainy River.

The board has made this declaration since 1997 to facilitate fairer representation.

The move would not change the total number of trustees to be elected in this fall’s school board elections, nor the representation of Fort Frances, Atikokan or the First Nations.

However, if the trustees reject the recommendation from the board’s finance committee, voters in the west end would elect just two trustees.

Fort Frances would gain a trustee, increasing its representation to three.

The representation for Atikokan and the area First Nations would remain at one trustee each.

A report notes that the district’s electoral population has declined by 478 voters since the last general election in 2022.

School boards are responsible for determining the number of trustee positions and the areas they represent before each general election.

Those decisions must be provided to the Ministry of Education by the end of the month.

Trustees with the Rainy River Board will discuss the issue at their meeting on Tuesday night.