School board elections are less than three weeks away and would-be commissioners are struggling to find support.
Voters at the Lester B. Pearson board, which administers English schools in the West Island, had an opportunity to meet the candidates such as Angela Nolet and Chris Eustace and ask them questions on Wednesday evening.
Fewer than thirty voters showed up.
"That's kind of sad, but you know what? The community is our parents," said Suanne Stein Day, the current chair of the Lester B. Pearson school board.
"The parents are overloaded we had their jobs very often, taking care of their kids, their kids' after-school activities, homework and the like, so I understand it's hard to get them out for yet another meeting."
In the last school board election, seven years ago, turnout for the anglophone school boards averaged 17 percent.
It was less than eight percent for the francophone school boards in Quebec, which has led the Education Minister to warn parents that if turnout does not improve he will consider abolishing school boards entirely.
Linton Garner, who is a commissioner with the Lester B. Pearson school board, said if anglophones want to have any control over education they must vote on Nov. 2.
"The English-speaking community has always said that we need to preserve our institutions and the schools are part of those institutions. We need to get out and put our money where our mouth is," said Garner.
Stein Day is hoping for a good turnout but acknowledges that would-be voters will face problems.
Many anglophones were put on the voter list for a francophone board and had to make a special request to be transferred.
Others will have to travel extensively on voting day.
"To get to a polling station we have wards where people have to travel an hour," said Stein Day.
Regardless, Ruchi Bargava was one parent who made a point of finding the time to attend a meeting because she knows what is at stake.
"I wanted to know the views of the people making decisions for my children's education."
