Lyra Evans loses in card draw to veteran trustee Lynn Scott for Ottawa-Carleton board chair

The vote was tied between trustees Lynn Scott and Lyra Evans, so the decision was made by the drawing of cards.

Published Nov 15, 2023 • Last updated 5 hours ago • 2 minute read

Lynn Scott, past and new chair of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, has been a school board trustee for more than two decades. Photo by Jacquie Miller /Postmedia files

Long-time trustee Lynn Scott has been elected as the new chair of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, but the vote came down to the drawing of cards.

The chair is elected by the board’s 12 trustees for a one-year term. In this case, there were two candidates: Lynn Scott, who has held the position numerous times in the past, and Lyra Evans, chair for term that just ended. She is believed to be the first openly transgender school trustee elected in Ontario.

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Since the vote was tied and neither candidate received a majority, the deadlock was broken by drawing cards — using Bridge Convention to determine the ranking of cards.

The past term has been tumultuous, with raucous protests targeting board meetings over issues such as masking in classrooms and transgender policies. Police have been called in to clear the board room and new security measures were introduced, including limiting the number of people admitted to the board room.

Scott is the trustee for Zone 1, West Carleton-March, Stittsville, Rideau-Jock, and has been a school board trustee since before Ontario school boards were amalgamated in 2000.

Lyra Evans had held the position of chair of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board for the term just ended. Photo by Lyra Evans photo /Handout

“I would like to thank Trustee Lyra Evans for her leadership in the past year. Looking ahead, our board must work closely together to seek improvements for student learning and well-being, ensure accountability and strengthen public confidence in the OCDSB,” Scott said in a statement.

“With our new strategic plan in place, we need to deliver on our promise to put learning at the forefront, support student and staff wellness, and acknowledge our collective social responsibilities to society.”

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Trustee Cathryne Milburn, the trustee for Zone 12, Orléans West-Innes, Beacon Hill-Cyrville, was elected vice-chair.

The OCDSB chair and vice-chair are elected for one-year terms in an annual organizational meeting, along with chairs for other committees.

The board chair acts as spokesperson for the board and is responsible for preparing and approving agendas for all regular, special or extraordinary meetings of the board and committee of the whole in consultation with the director of education. The chair also calls meetings of the board to order after establishing that quorum is present and presiding over meetings as well as signing corporate documents that require the chair’s signature.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board acclaimed its chair, Mark Mullan, and vice-chair Cindy Simpson at its annual general meeting on Tuesday night.