WCDSB filling vacant trustee seat with election runner-up

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCSDB) will have another new face at the trustee table.

Trustee Sally Fuentes – who was one of two trustees representing the communities of Waterloo, Woolwich, and Wellesley – resigned in September for family-related reasons.

At a Monday night meeting, the board decided to appoint Conrad Stanley – the runner-up from last year’s election – to replace her.

During the discussion preceding the vote, some trustees questioned whether Stanley would be the best choice to reflect the diversity of the board.

“Sally represented some diversity at this table,” trustee Kathy Doherty-Masters said. “By choosing to accept applications, we have an opportunity to see who in our community may fill that void.”

Earlier this year, the local public school board chose to fill vacant trustee seats through appointment after accepting applications.

“Not allowing the next runner-up to get it simply because they’re not diverse enough, because they’re a white, Christian male isn’t a good look for the board,” trustee Marisa Phillips said.

The board says they’ll be contacting Stanley to let him know of their decision.

“One of the things that we always reflect on is wanting to be representative of the families and students that come to Waterloo Catholic,” Tracey Weiler, chair of the board, told CTV News after the meeting. “As we reflect on that, we always want to do better.”