How To Vote
Visit the Grande Prairie Catholic school district's website here to find your voting times and locations.
Election Survey
| Ward | Candidate Name | Responded |
|---|---|---|
| Ward 1 - Grande Prairie & Immediate County | Michelle Boisvert | ❌ |
| Hervey Chabot | ❌ | |
| John Croken | ❌ | |
| Sherwyn Cummings | ❌ | |
| Jermiah English | ❌ | |
| Todd Fogle | ✅ | |
| Anthony Gosse | ❌ | |
| Emilia Hovorka-Spelrem | ✅ | |
| Brett Hunziker | ❌ | |
| Natalie Lemay | ✅ | |
| Kevin McLean | ❌ | |
| Beverly Silvester | ✅ | |
| Dwight Zenner | ❌ | |
| Ward 2 - Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Spirit River & Immediate County | Michelle Gemmell | ❌ |
| Erin Smith | ❌ |
Question 1
Parents have consistently said they believe school boards should prioritize core academics. Do you believe that priority is currently reflected in your school board's budget? If not, what would you change?
Ward 1 - Grande Prairie & Immediate County
5 To Be Elected
Michelle Boisvert: No response.
Hervey Chabot: No response.
John Croken: No response.
Sherwyn Cummings: No response.
Jermiah English: No response.
Todd Fogle: No response.
Anthony Gosse: No response.
Emilia Hovorka-Spelrem: Yes- unfortunately I feel our budget cannot be stretched to do any more
Brett Hunziker: No response.
Natalie Lemay: I believe our school board prioritizes core academics in our district, particularly at the schools my children currently attend.
Kevin McLean: No response.
Beverly Silvester: As far as I know. However, I am concerned with the number of students reaching High School with poor literacy skills.
Dwight Zenner: No response.
Ward 2 - Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Spirit River & Immediate County
1 To Be Elected
Michelle Gemmell: No response.
Erin Smith: No response.
Question 2
Do you believe the money following the student to the education that parents choose is an important element of accountability for public education or a threat?
Ward 1 - Grande Prairie & Immediate County
5 To Be Elected
Michelle Boisvert: No response.
Hervey Chabot: No response.
John Croken: No response.
Sherwyn Cummings: No response.
Jermiah English: No response.
Todd Fogle: Yes, it is important.
Anthony Gosse: No response.
Emilia Hovorka-Spelrem: I do not believe it is a threat
Brett Hunziker: No response.
Natalie Lemay: I believe the money should follow the student and this is important for freedom of choice for parents as well as accountability for public education.
Kevin McLean: No response.
Beverly Silvester: An important part of accountability.
Dwight Zenner: No response.
Ward 2 - Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Spirit River & Immediate County
1 To Be Elected
Michelle Gemmell: No response.
Erin Smith: No response.
Question 3
Do you believe local decision-makers should take responsibility for local decisions, or do you believe decisions are best made centrally?
Ward 1 - Grande Prairie & Immediate County
5 To Be Elected
Michelle Boisvert: No response.
Hervey Chabot: No response.
John Croken: No response.
Sherwyn Cummings: No response.
Jermiah English: No response.
Todd Fogle: I appreciate the goal of accountability and consistency of centrally made decisions while also support the responsibility of local decisions, provided that same accountability is maintained.
Anthony Gosse: No response.
Emilia Hovorka-Spelrem: Local decision makers should take responsibility for local decisions
Brett Hunziker: No response.
Natalie Lemay: As much as possible, I believe decisions should be made locally as they can address the issues and individual needs of the local area. I also think decisions should go higher at times and can be good to keep an overall standard provincially and keep local districts accountable.
Kevin McLean: No response.
Beverly Silvester: Decisions should be made locally
Dwight Zenner: No response.
Ward 2 - Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Spirit River & Immediate County
1 To Be Elected
Michelle Gemmell: No response.
Erin Smith: No response.
Question 4
Do you believe your school board is currently transparent enough with parents and taxpayers? What would you change?
Ward 1 - Grande Prairie & Immediate County
5 To Be Elected
Michelle Boisvert: No response.
Hervey Chabot: No response.
John Croken: No response.
Sherwyn Cummings: No response.
Jermiah English: No response.
Todd Fogle: No response.
Anthony Gosse: No response.
Emilia Hovorka-Spelrem: Yes I feel they are transparent
Brett Hunziker: No response.
Natalie Lemay: This is a good question. I do not thinking I can accurately answer it until I have experience on our school board, if elected.
Kevin McLean: No response.
Beverly Silvester: No. I want to see meetings recorded live again.
Dwight Zenner: No response.
Ward 2 - Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Spirit River & Immediate County
1 To Be Elected
Michelle Gemmell: No response.
Erin Smith: No response.
Question 5
Can you commit to removing any policies that require secrets to be kept from parents by policy, without an individual, exceptional circumstance being identified?
Ward 1 - Grande Prairie & Immediate County
5 To Be Elected
Michelle Boisvert: No response.
Hervey Chabot: No response.
John Croken: No response.
Sherwyn Cummings: No response.
Jermiah English: No response.
Todd Fogle: Yes, with the exception of if a child is at immediate risk.
Anthony Gosse: No response.
Emilia Hovorka-Spelrem: Yes I do not believe in this policy
Brett Hunziker: No response.
Natalie Lemay: Absolutely. Schools are here to help parents in the education of their children. It is Catholic Teaching that parents are the primary educators and therefore should always be kept informed about their children.
Kevin McLean: No response.
Beverly Silvester: Yes.
Dwight Zenner: No response.
Ward 2 - Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Spirit River & Immediate County
1 To Be Elected
Michelle Gemmell: No response.
Erin Smith: No response.
Question 6
Do you believe parents should be informed before abortion, sexual assault, marriage, or questions about deciding to have children are covered in school, in a way similar to the requirements around sexual identity or religious identity?
Ward 1 - Grande Prairie & Immediate County
5 To Be Elected
Michelle Boisvert: No response.
Hervey Chabot: No response.
John Croken: No response.
Sherwyn Cummings: No response.
Jermiah English: No response.
Todd Fogle: Yes
Anthony Gosse: No response.
Emilia Hovorka-Spelrem: Yes parents should be informed
Brett Hunziker: No response.
Natalie Lemay: Yes, parental consent is very important to me.
Kevin McLean: No response.
Beverly Silvester: Yes parents have a right to know what their child is being taught.
Dwight Zenner: No response.
Ward 2 - Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Spirit River & Immediate County
1 To Be Elected
Michelle Gemmell: No response.
Erin Smith: No response.
Question 7
Do you believe program and course development at the school board level must be transparent and focused on clearly defined knowledge outcomes?
Ward 1 - Grande Prairie & Immediate County
5 To Be Elected
Michelle Boisvert: No response.
Hervey Chabot: No response.
John Croken: No response.
Sherwyn Cummings: No response.
Jermiah English: No response.
Todd Fogle: Yes
Anthony Gosse: No response.
Emilia Hovorka-Spelrem: Yes it should be transparent with clearly defined knowledge outcomes
Brett Hunziker: No response.
Natalie Lemay: Yes.
Kevin McLean: No response.
Beverly Silvester: Yes I do.
Dwight Zenner: No response.
Ward 2 - Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Spirit River & Immediate County
1 To Be Elected
Michelle Gemmell: No response.
Erin Smith: No response.
Question 8
What are your thoughts on communicating progress clearly with letter grades and percentages, as opposed to "descriptive grading", at all grade levels?
Ward 1 - Grande Prairie & Immediate County
5 To Be Elected
Michelle Boisvert: No response.
Hervey Chabot: No response.
John Croken: No response.
Sherwyn Cummings: No response.
Jermiah English: No response.
Todd Fogle: I support a balanced approach of both summative and formative assessment.
Anthony Gosse: No response.
Emilia Hovorka-Spelrem: This would simplify for parents and teachers- however it may not work for all students
Brett Hunziker: No response.
Natalie Lemay: I do not see much difference. I have 3 children in higher grades with percentages and 3 children in lower grades with descriptive grading and both give me a very good picture of how my child is doing academically.
Kevin McLean: No response.
Beverly Silvester: As a parent I prefer to know my child's progress by percentage at all grade levels. The teacher should outline where the child needs to improve as well.
Dwight Zenner: No response.
Ward 2 - Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Spirit River & Immediate County
1 To Be Elected
Michelle Gemmell: No response.
Erin Smith: No response.
Question 9
Professional development days for teachers and other school board staff are negotiated locally. Do you believe your school board currently has negotiated the right number of professional development days? If not, what changes would you like to advocate for?
Ward 1 - Grande Prairie & Immediate County
5 To Be Elected
Michelle Boisvert: No response.
Hervey Chabot: No response.
John Croken: No response.
Sherwyn Cummings: No response.
Jermiah English: No response.
Todd Fogle: I am less concerned with the amount of days, than with the content and use of those professional development days in our district. I believe there should be better use of our teacher’s time to support them in their direct roles/positions and less about district-wide ideations. I also would like to see more formation in Catholic education.
Anthony Gosse: No response.
Emilia Hovorka-Spelrem: I believe that there is enough professional develpment days
Brett Hunziker: No response.
Natalie Lemay: If elected, I would like to look into PD days and compare our district with other districts in regards to how many we have as well as how our PD days look for teachers (ie: is our district giving them time to implement the PD, is it used in a way that truly benefits the teachers so that they can better help our students).
Kevin McLean: No response.
Beverly Silvester: It's not the amount of PD days it's the content that needs review.
Dwight Zenner: No response.
Ward 2 - Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Spirit River & Immediate County
1 To Be Elected
Michelle Gemmell: No response.
Erin Smith: No response.
Question 10
Do you support or oppose the impending teachers' strike? Please explain your reasoning.
Ward 1 - Grande Prairie & Immediate County
5 To Be Elected
Michelle Boisvert: No response.
Hervey Chabot: No response.
John Croken: No response.
Sherwyn Cummings: No response.
Jermiah English: No response.
Todd Fogle: I understand the teacher’s needs for supports, resources and class sizes which is why I would like to respond to the Premier’s call to look at how our budgets are managed and allocated to prioritize more teacher support and spending accountability.
Anthony Gosse: No response.
Emilia Hovorka-Spelrem: I support the teachers' strike. This decision did not come lightly — it follows years of educators trying to work within a broken system. Classrooms are overcrowded, resources are stretched thin, and supports for students and teachers alike are inadequate. Our teachers are standing up not just for themselves, but for the quality of education every student deserves. The provincial government must listen. When our governments underfund education, it's not just teachers who suffer — it's students, families, and the future workforce. -Under-resourced classrooms are leading to burnout and teacher shortages. -Inadequate support for students, especially those with special needs, impacts learning outcomes. -Wages not keeping up with inflation make it hard to attract and retain skilled educators. -Cuts to educational programs have reduced opportunities for students across the board.
Brett Hunziker: No response.
Natalie Lemay: I find it unfortunate that it has come to a strike but I support our teachers 100% in their fight to improve the conditions of their profession for the future of Alberta Education.
Kevin McLean: No response.
Beverly Silvester: I support the teachers' strike. My husband and I are both retired school teachers and know first hand the frustrating issues of over crowded classrooms with no or precious little support for the special needs students. Our oldest grandchild is autistic and in Grade 10. If we were not tutoring him in the afternoons he would have no chance at reaching his potential. It has fallen to us to support his education because there are not enough Educational Assistants at his school.
Dwight Zenner: No response.
Ward 2 - Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Spirit River & Immediate County
1 To Be Elected
Michelle Gemmell: No response.
Erin Smith: No response.