Butler back as Chinook’s Edge chair

Colleen Butler has been re-elected as chair of the Chinook’s Edge School Division board for a ninth straight year.

The election took place at last week’s organizational board meeting in Innisfail.

“I enjoy doing the work and I hope I can make a bit of a difference,” said Butler.

Having a long-term chair in place “brings some continuity and historical background” to the position, she said.

“It’s an easy transition,” she said.

During last week’s meeting, trustees voted to keep their remuneration unchanged in 2018.

“We are asking our staff to hold the line as much as possible so it doesn’t seem right for us to take an increase,” she said. “We are hoping that our staff will see that we are setting an example.”

She said she sees numerous challenges facing the division over the next year.

“We are coming up on a provincial election in the spring so that could affect a number of things,” she said. “We struggle with funding all the time. Our transportation budget is perennially in a deficit because the funding does not meet the needs.

“Being able to maintain enough staff with the funding we receive is also a challenge. We are limited by the funding we get from the provincial government.”

The division’s current trustees work well together, she said.

“We have a strong board and we have a lot of diverse views,” she said.

Butler says she does not plan to seek re-election as trustee in the 2021 municipal election.