The former chair of the recently dismissed Vancouver school board wants a byelection.

Mike Lombardi, who was fired along with eight other education trustees on October 17, says the province should call a special election within six months.

The B.C. Liberal government of Premier Christy Clark appointed former Delta school superintendent Dianne Turner as official trustee for one year, with an option to extend her term.

With the next regular municipal election still two years away—on October 20, 2018—Lombardi believes that it’s unfair for residents of the city not to have an elected school board.

“I think it’s irresponsible to have a city the size of Vancouver to have a school board governed by someone who’s unaccountable to anyone except the premier,” Lombardi told the Straight in a phone interview. “The citizens of Vancouver deserve a democratically elected school board who’s accountable to them.”

The Vancouver school board was sacked by Education Minister Mike Bernier for failing to approve a balanced budget by its June 30 deadline.

At a meeting Monday (October 24), the Burnaby school board unanimously passed a motion by vice-chair Harman Pandher urging the province to call a byelection
in Vancouver.

“Whether it’s necessary or not, the situation should not be left as is for too long,” Pandher told the Straight by phone about the canning of the Vancouver school board. “As soon as possible, we’d like to see an election where the people of Vancouver get to elect their school trustees.”