Record turnout for school council elections at Whitehorse's Catholic schools

A record-breaking election on Monday resulted in 15 new council members at Whitehorse's three Catholic schools.

"It was a great turnout," said chief electoral officer Maxwell Harvey. "It indicates some energy and some recognition of the importance of the governance of schools here in the Yukon."

There were 386 people who cast ballots for the three school councils: 153 voters at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Secondary School, 146 voters at Holy Family Elementary, and 87 voters at Christ the King Elementary.

According to Harvey, this year's election broke the record set in 2016, when 145 voters showed up for the single school council election at St. Francis of Assisi (then known as Vanier Catholic High School).

"It's still something to build on, but it's growing," Harvey said.

All 3 councils won with close vote

Each school had five council seats available.

Holy Family Elementary had the most candidates, with 13 people vying for a seat. 

Gina Anderson and Shirah Davis were re-elected with the highest number of votes at 102 and 90 ballots, respectively. Robyn Burns was elected with 82 votes, Jody Eikelboom with 71 votes, and Sara Poirier with 65 votes.

Anderson and Davis are the only re-elected council members. Daniel Harms, who was acclaimed to council mid-year, did not win his seat back. 

Seven brand-new candidates ran for council at Christ the King. None of the previous council members ran for re-election.

Milton Davis was elected with 59 votes, Evan Moffat with 57 votes, Rocío Castro with 56 votes, Mike Snider with 44 votes and Alathea Wallace with 34 votes.

There were six candidates running at St. Francis of Assisi. Ryan Sikkes was the only former council member who ran for re-election. He kept his seat on council with 107 votes.

Sikkes tied for first place with Rod Bagaslao, who was also elected with 107 votes. Jeanette Gallant followed with 104 votes, Christopher Potvin with 91 and Katherine Williams with 68.

The remaining 13 Yukon schools did not have enough candidates to require an election, but all of the councils were acclaimed with enough members to meet quorum. 

The new school councils will serve a two-year term beginning the day before the start of the 2024/25 school year.