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ATM: Trustee Elections and the Call to Governance

ATM-2025-0417

As we approach the upcoming trustee elections on October 20, 2025, it’s a great time to reflect on the important role trustees play in shaping the educational experience within the Foothills School Division (FSD).  

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Understanding the Trustee’s Role 

Trustees are more than elected officials—they are community leaders who help connect the voices of families, students, and staff to the broader work of education. Their responsibilities include:  

  • Strategic Oversight: Trustees approve and monitor the Division’s strategic priorities, making sure the educational direction reflects both community values and student needs.  
  • Policy Development: They create and review policies that guide school operations, helping ensure fairness and consistency across the Division.  
  • Fiscal Responsibility: Trustees approve the annual budget, balancing resources to support classroom learning, student wellness, transportation, and other essential services.  
  • Community Engagement: By visiting schools, attending school council meetings, and staying connected to their communities, trustees help ensure that many perspectives are reflected in decision-making.  


The Importance of Wards 

FSD is divided into five wards, each represented by elected trustees. This ward structure ensures that all communities—large and small—have a voice at the Board table, while trustees work together for the success of all students across the Division.  


Your Role in Governance 

Strong governance relies on engaged communities. You can play a part by:  

  • Staying informed: Read the Footnotes, review Board agendas, and follow updates from your local trustees.  
  • Participating: Attend school council or Board meetings to learn more and share your perspectives.  
  • Voting: Cast your ballot in the trustee elections to help shape the future of education in the Foothills.  
  • Considering candidacy: If you’re passionate about education and community leadership, consider running for a trustee position.  

For more information about the trustee role and the election process, visit the Trustee Guide to Good Governance and the Board of Trustee Elections page on our website.  


Looking Ahead: A Deeper Dive into Board Responsibilities  

In the weeks ahead, each of your trustees will share their perspective on one of the key responsibilities of school board governance—communication and community engagement, advocacy, student learning, fiscal responsibility, professional learning, and the Board/Superintendent relationship.  

Each Thoughtful Moment will highlight why these areas matter and how trustees work to represent the needs and priorities of the communities they serve.  

We look forward to sharing these insights with you—and to continuing to build strong connections between our schools, communities, and the Division’s governance work.  


Yours in Learning,  

Trustee%20Letendre-9.pngTheresa Letendre
Board Chair
Trustee, Ward 3Trustee%20Penzo%20(2)-3.pngLisa Penzo
Vice Chair
Trustee, Ward 4 










Related Reading: Footnotes April 2025

 


 


 

Longview
School
101 Morrison Road
Box 220
Longview, T0L 1H0 View Map
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Families within Foothills School Division may download our app. Once signed in, you'll be able to receive updates from your school, report your child absent, review current bus status, and more!

Families within Foothills School Division may download our app. Once signed in, you'll be able to receive updates from your school, report your child absent, review current bus status, and more!

We would like to acknowledge the land of Treaty 7 that Longview School is built on. We are grateful to live and learn in the beauty of the seasons, the rivers, the fields and the mountains. We are grateful for the food and the water that this land provides us. We are thankful for the fresh air that we breathe, the sun that gives us light and the dark that gives us rest.


We are also thankful for the animals that we share this land with, and what nature has to teach us; be respectful of our surroundings for there is much that has been here long before us and much to come long after us, be quiet and listen, be calm and be careful.


We are part of a community and we must take care of the land and all that is nurtured by it. We appreciate the generosity of the Stoney Nakoda for allowing us to live, learn and play on their land. We are thankful for our Eden Valley neighbors and for their willingness to build friendships and to share their culture with us.

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