15 | durhamregion.com This Week | Thursday, August 18, 2022 | Work is continuing on plans to add an Indigenous trustee position at the Durham District School Board. The Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (MSIFN) raised the issue in 2018, "strongly requesting" that the role be created. Discussions have been ongoing and a DDSB report says a letter was sent in the spring asking MSIFN to confirm the name of a potential appointee. "The education department for MSIFN identified a need for an Indigenous voice on the board of trustees, particularly given the high population of Indigenous students served within DDSB schools," says MSIFN Chief Kelly LaRocca. In a discussion at a DDSB board meeting, trustees said they expect to deal with the matter in September -- the next municipal election is in October, and a new board of trustees will start its term in November. The Ontario Education Act allows school boards in Ontario to appoint an Indigenous trustee, who is then deemed to be an elected member of the board. The DDSB's most recent data shows that 2,691 students self-identify as First Nation, Métis or Inuit, roughly 3.6 per cent of the student population. "The benefit to having an Indigenous voice is not to profess the representation of a monolithic view, but to offer an Indigenous perspective on the diversity of issues faced by trustees," LaRocca says. The DDSB report says the average annual cost per trustee is about $25,000, and that an Indigenous trustee position could be funded through an administrative and governance grant. DDSB COULD HAVE NEW INDIGENOUS TRUSTEE SPOT JILLIAN FOLLERT jfoller t@durhamregion.com NEWS THE DDSB'S MOST RECENT DATA SHOWS THAT 2,691 STUDENTS SELF-IDENTIFY AS INDIGENOUS SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT DURHAMREGION.COM