Featherley is seeking a second term as School Board Trustee with the Sturgeon School Division. A Morinville resident with four children who currently attend an SSD School, the incumbent said she wants to see some of the Division’s big projects through to completion.
by Jennifer Lavallee
Morinville News Correspondent
The incumbent Morinville School Board Trustee for Sturgeon School Division (SSD), Misty Featherley, has announced she will be running again in the next municipal election. Featherley said it was a decision she made back in June, and that it was an easy one to make.
“We’ve got so many projects on the go right now,” she said, “and I want to see them through to completion.” Featherley pointed out, in particular, SSD’s new junior high project, which is currently being built in the Town’s north-east quarter.
“Things are running smoothly with that project now, and we’re meeting our timelines. It was exciting to work on the visioning and planning, and now I’d love to get the chance to sit as Trustee again to see [that school] completed. I can’t wait for the first day they open the doors to students.”
The redesign of SSD’s central office is another project Featherley said she hopes to see completed through to the end. “I think I’m really comfortable in the Trustee position now, the first two-to-three years—there was quite a learning curving there; now I’m feeling really confident.” The incumbent described a second term as getting the chance to “hit her stride.”
Featherley, who is a mom to six kids (four of which attend an SSD school; two who are not yet of school age), was acclaimed as Trustee in the 2013 municipal election. She has a background in banking and is currently a student in Business Management.
In addition to working on the big projects SSD has in the works, Featherley also hopes to bring more focus to program options in schools. “I’d like to see more offered in the future, especially when it comes to indigenous programming.” The Trustee also said she’d like to see the Division explore additional partnership opportunities that could be made between SSD and Alexander First Nation.
Supporting the school division’s REGGIO program and that of open concept teaching in the forthcoming junior high, as well as expanding on the progress of SSD’s French Immersion program in Morinville are other initiatives Featherley said she’d like to champion if voters award her a second term.
“There are so many rewarding things that come with being Trustee,” remarked Featherley, who said being involved with bringing 21st-century learning to Morinville, and giving students new ways to find success in their learning journeys, is a great feeling. “I really love attending and participating in school events, too,” she added.
Featherley currently sits on seven subcommittees for the SSD Board, including on the Advocacy, Education Policy, and Transportation Committees.
She estimates that she attends about 70 meeting per year as School Board Trustee. “It does vary,” she said, “some weeks we’re meeting five-days-per-week, other weeks, not as many. I think I spend about two-hours-per-week reading meeting materials, too.”
Additionally, School Board Trustees also commit time to attending training sessions and internal committee and parent-council meetings. Occasionally, they also go to conferences and association meetings as well.
There will be seven seats up for grabs on the SSD Board when voters head to the polls on October 16. Besides the Morinville Division, SSD also has Trustees in the Cardiff/Garrison, Alcomdale/Villeneuve, Redwater/Coronado, Bon Accord/Legal, Sturgeon Valley/West St. Albert, and Gibbons/Lamoureux divisions.
