Ottawa’s public-school board will need to appoint two trustees to serve for the final year of the four-year term. The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board voted Monday evening to accept the resignations of Zone 9 trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth and Zone 10 trustee Justine Bell. Kaplan-Myrth announced her resignation on June 3, citing a “combination of toxicity” from outside the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and within the board. “Within the first weeks of our work as trustees, we had to evacuate our boardroom because of unwieldy protesters against public health measures,” Kaplan-Myrth wrote in her resignation letter. “I was disappointed then, and I have been disappointed since then by the inability or unwillingness of this Board to acknowledge how organized disinformation campaigns and populist movements shape our policy and program decisions.” Last Friday, Bell announced her resignation as trustee as of the end of the school year. “After five meaningful years representing Somerset, I’ve made the decision to focus on my family,” Bell said in a letter to residents in her zone. “The board table was often a difficult space and, at times a toxic one. I worked hard to improve that environment – advocating for respectful dialogue, pushing for a conflict resolution practitioner, learning about the impact of white supremacist colonial structures, and keeping all students at the centre of every conversation. Despite this and the barriers of chronic provincial underfunding, I remain deeply inspired by the commitment of our educators and school staff.” Trustees are required to fill a vacant OCDSB trustee role within 90 days, meaning the vacancies must be filled by Sept. 21. Under the plan to fill the vacancies, interested candidates will be required to submit a letter of application, a resume and a completed declaration of qualification before Aug. 18. A special board meeting will be held on Sept. 16 to appoint two new trustees. Each candidate will have up to five minutes to tell trustees why they should choose them to fill the vacancy. Trustees will then hold a preliminary vote to advance candidates to the interview stage, and then a secret vote will be held to select a winner. The two appointed trustees will serve until the next municipal election on Oct. 26, 2026.
