A: 9  

A: The Board of Education meets for In-Camera and regular Public Board meetings once a month (except July) on the fourth Monday of each month. 

The Board also has two Standing Committees that meet monthly from September to June. The Education Committee meets on the first Monday of the month, the Operations Committee meets on the second Monday of the month. All trustees may attend either committee and the Board may choose to sit more formally as a Committee of the Whole. 

Members of the Board of Education also meet on an as-needed basis in Contractual and Select committees, and as part of external committees. These committee meetings may be scheduled during business hours. 

A: Yes, the Board of Education's 2026-2027 meeting schedule will be presented at the Regular Public Board on June 22, 2026, for board approval. Once approved by the Board, the 2026-2027 meeting schedule will be available on sd73.bc.ca.  

A: Issues pertaining to Land, Labour, and Legal are discussed and debated at In-Camera meetings.  

A: As a trustee, you should be prepared to spend 10-15 hours a week on Board of Education meetings and work, but the exact time commitment varies depending on time of year (i.e. budget development season) and board initiatives, (strategic plan development, community consultations, etc.). 

A: Candidates run within a specific electoral area and are elected by voters in that area. 

A: Yes, you can publicly say you intend to run before the formal pre‑campaign period. While there is no rule prohibiting you from announcing your intention to run early (even well before the pre‑campaign period or nomination period), there are important limits on what you can do around that announcement, especially about spending, advertising, and fundraising.

Please review the 2026 Candidate Campaign Expense Limits at https://elections.bc.ca/local-elections/candidate-expense-limits/#SD73

A: No, but if you work for the school district you would have to take a leave if you ran for trustee. Trustees must also comply with conflict-of-interest provisions under the School Act and avoid participating in decisions that could directly affect a family member. 

A: No, you cannot be a school district employee and a trustee. Section 34 of the School Act sets out that an employee of a board of education is disqualified from being nominated for, being elected to, or holding office as a trustee on that board, unless the employee takes a leave of absence while running for office and resigns if elected. 

A: Yes, a school trustee in British Columbia may be a member of a school Parent Advisory Council (PAC), as the BC School Act entitles any parent or guardian of a student to belong to their school's PAC. However, trustees are generally considered guests at PAC meetings rather than voting members, and they cannot serve on a PAC executive. https://bccpac.bc.ca/index.php/members/pac-dpac/what-is-a-pac

A: There are no restrictions for school district employees to nominate a trustee candidate. However, schools are neutral with respect to all local candidates, and students should not be exposed to any campaign materials.

According to the Province of B.C. Supporting a Candidate for Local Elections in B.C. Guide, if an individual wants to nominate a candidate for local office, they must:  

• be 18 years of age or older when you register to vote or will be 18 years of age or older on general voting day;  
• be a Canadian citizen;  
• have been a resident of B.C. for at least six months before registering to vote;  
• be a resident elector or non-resident property elector in the municipality or electoral area for which the nomination is being made; and,  
• not be disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election or be otherwise disqualified by law.

A: Yes, you would qualify for benefits including Extended Health Care, Dental Care, Group Life, and Group Accident Insurance.  

For more information on benefits, explore the SD73 Exempt Staff BCPSEA Benefits Outline and the Teacher, Administration & Excluded Benefits Brochure.  

A:  Board Policy 7: Board Operations outlines the policies for Trustee Remuneration (Section 13) and Trustee Expense Reimbursement (Section 15) 

• 13.1 In accordance with the provisions of the School Act, trustees shall receive remuneration paid on a monthly basis, the amount of which shall be set by Board resolution. Additional amounts, also set by Board resolution, shall be paid to the Chair and Vice-Chair respectively.  
• 13.2 Trustees shall receive a technology allowance, included in their remuneration in September, the amount of which shall be reviewed annually and set by Board resolution.

As of the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the base remuneration rates are:  

• Board Chair: $33,634 per year  
• Vice-Chair: $30,429 per year  
• Trustee: $28,503 per year  

As of the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the base technology allowance is $1,026 per year.  

Annually on July 1, the remuneration paid to trustees, the Chair, and Vice-Chair are adjusted based on increases or decreases to the BC Consumer Price Index. 

Business Use Mileage: In alignment with the Canada Revenue Agency’s rate increase January 1, 2026, the District's per-kilometre reimbursement rate for trustees business travel is $0.73 per KM as of July 1, 2026, for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.   

There are no separate reimbursement or expense rates for committee meetings, however, many committee meetings are available to attend online via Zoom.  

A: It depends. Most capital funding, such as building a new school (Major Capital) or installing a new HVAC system (Minor Capital), comes from the Province, with district applying annually for capital funding. For technology costs, if it is physically installed in a building it can be funded from Capital, but most IT costs are from Operations.  

A: All school districts in the province belong to the Schools Protection Program (SPP) insurance program that covers these unexpected costs, such as repairs and remediation from a school fire. The district pays a $10,000 deductible, and SPP/the Province covers the rest of the cost through insurance.  

A: It varies. Kamloops, a larger urban center that has experienced big growth, has received more capital funding than many rural areas, and many facilities are currently in stable condition, though ongoing renewal and replacement needs exist.

In the Long-Range Facilities Plan, there are eight schools listed in the Replacement Schools category of the Capital Plan.  

• Dallas Elementary (capacity increase) 
• South Kamloops Secondary 
• Bert Edwards Elementary 
• Kay Bingham Elementary 
• Raft River Elementary 
• AE Perry Elementary 
• Marion Schilling Elementary 
• Beattie Elementary 

Given the length of time required to construct or replace space, facilities replacement is a medium- to long-term process. The district is actively working to identify needs so that replacement projects can be put forward. 

Considering facilities renewal is a long-term process, the district must lobby the Ministry for increased Annual Facilities Grant and School Enhancement Program funding to ensure that the district can continue to maintain its buildings in a condition that provides healthy learning environments, until school building replacement funding becomes available.

A: Staff and community members may contact trustees with concerns. Board Policy 3 states that trustees shall refer administrative matters to the Superintendent and upon receiving a complaint or an inquiry from a parent, staff member or community member about operations, refer the parent, staff member or community member back to the teacher, principal, or Board Office and inform the Superintendent of this action.