Voter Information
What Are School Board Trustees?
What they do, what they don’t do, and who you can vote for.
School board trustees are elected during Ontario’s municipal elections, but they are not members of municipal council. Trustees govern publicly funded school boards and represent residents, parents, students and school-board supporters at the board table.
Trustees govern the school system. They do not run individual schools.
2026 Trustee Elections in Centre Wellington
English Public
Upper Grand District School Board
Township of Centre Wellington
- Chris McGarvey
- Chris Davies
English Catholic / Separate
Wellington Catholic District School Board
Township of Centre Wellington, Town of Minto, Township of Mapleton and Township of Wellington North
- Andrew Finoro
French Public
Conseil scolaire Viamonde
Wellington, Middlesex, Perth and Huron counties and the Region of Waterloo
- Rachid Barrima
French Catholic / Separate
Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir
Wellington County, Dufferin County, Brampton and Caledon
- Genevieve Grenier
An acclaimed candidate is elected because no other candidate was certified for that office. No vote is required for that trustee position.
What Does a School Board Trustee Do?
Set Strategic Direction
Establish the board’s strategic priorities, develop and oversee board-level policy, and keep student achievement and well-being at the centre of decisions.
Represent the Community
Bring concerns from parents, students and board supporters to the board. Consult with, communicate with and represent the communities the board serves.
Participate in Governance
Attend and participate in board and committee meetings. Oversee senior board leadership according to Ontario law.
Scrutinize Resources
Examine board finances and major spending decisions within Ontario’s education framework, including provincial funding and accountability rules.
Plan for the School System
Participate in decisions about facilities, accommodation, boundaries and system-wide programming where these fall within the board’s authority.
Individual trustees do not have executive authority. Decisions are made collectively by the board.
What Can’t a Trustee Do?
An individual trustee cannot:
- run an individual school
- supervise teachers
- direct a principal to take a particular action
- change a student’s grade
- personally hire or fire a teacher
- control day-to-day school-board operations
- individually change school-board policy
- individually order a school to open or close
- set Ontario’s provincial curriculum
- change provincial graduation requirements
- set Ontario’s education property-tax rate
- control Township of Centre Wellington or Wellington County services
Ontario’s Education Act requires trustees to entrust the day-to-day management of the board to board staff.
Individual student concerns are generally addressed through teachers, principals and the board’s administrative processes. Some matters have formal statutory appeal or hearing processes involving a board or committee; these do not give an individual trustee authority to decide the matter alone.
Four Publicly Funded School Systems
Centre Wellington residents may be represented through one of four publicly funded Ontario school systems.
English Public
Upper Grand District School Board
English Catholic / Separate
Wellington Catholic District School Board
French Public
Conseil scolaire Viamonde
French Catholic / Separate
Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir
Voters do not vote in all four trustee elections. The trustee ballot a voter receives depends on the school board they are eligible to support. No trustee vote is required where the candidate is acclaimed.
Which Trustee Can I Vote For?
English Public
An otherwise eligible school-board voter is automatically eligible for the English-language public board unless they have changed their school support and qualify as a supporter of another system.
English Catholic / Separate
You must be Roman Catholic, and you or your spouse must be an English-language separate school board supporter.
French Public
You must be a French-language rights holder, and you or your spouse must be a French-language public school board supporter.
French Catholic / Separate
You must be Roman Catholic and a French-language rights holder, and you or your spouse must be a French-language separate school board supporter.
General school-board voter eligibility also applies, including Canadian citizenship, being at least 18, qualifying residence or property connection within the board’s area, and not being prohibited from voting. The school your child attends does not by itself determine your trustee ballot.
Verify your own school-support designation and eligibility with MPAC and official election resources. CW Votes does not determine individual eligibility. French-language rights-holder status is defined in the Education Act.
How Do I Check My School Support?
Elections Ontario maintains the Permanent Register of Electors used to prepare municipal voters lists. MPAC remains responsible for collecting school-support information for municipal school-board elections.
On or after September 1, 2026, apply to your municipal clerk to add or update information on the municipal voters list. Ontario’s guide allows applications until the close of voting on October 26, 2026.
Check your school-support designation through MPAC and confirm any required voters-list correction with the Township’s election office. Ontario’s 2026 guide says school support cannot be changed when you go to vote on voting day, so verify it ahead of time.
Trustee vs. Municipal Councillor
On smaller screens, scroll the table horizontally to read all three columns.
| Issue | School Board Trustee | Municipal Council |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario curriculum | No — primarily provincial responsibility | No |
| School-board policies | Yes, collectively | No |
| School operations | Governance and oversight, not daily management | No |
| Township roads | No | Yes, depending on road jurisdiction |
| Municipal planning / zoning | No | Yes, within provincial rules |
| Parks and recreation | No | Yes |
| Education property-tax rate | No | No — set provincially |
| School facilities / capital planning | Board-level role, subject to provincial requirements | No direct school-board authority |
Why Trustee Elections Are Held with Municipal Elections
Ontario municipal clerks administer municipal council and school-board trustee elections.
Being elected during the municipal election does not make a trustee a municipal councillor. School boards are separate public bodies governed under Ontario education legislation.
Sources & Official Information
Candidate names and election status verified September 28, 2026. CW Votes provides non-partisan election information and does not endorse candidates.
- Ontario Education Act — sections 169.1 and 218.1
- Ontario 2026 Voters’ Guide — Municipal Council and School Board Elections
- Ontario 2026 Voters’ Guide — Eligibility to vote
- Ontario 2026 Voters’ Guide — Voters’ list and identification
- Ontario Ministry of Education — Responsibility for publicly funded education
- Township of Centre Wellington — Official 2026 candidate list
- Upper Grand District School Board — About school board trustees
- Wellington Catholic District School Board
- Conseil scolaire Viamonde
- Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir
- MPAC — School support