Christine Martynuik of Queen Charlotte has won the new south-end school board seat, beating out not one but two incumbents - Gail Henry of Sandspit and Shirley Hawse of Queen Charlotte.
"I'm shocked, it's very nice... They're giving a new face a chance," Ms Martynuik said tonight after being informed of the election results. "I'm really happy that the people have given me that vote of confidence."
With two children in the school system, Ms Martynuik is in the classroom volunteering every week and is well aware of the challenges facing teachers and other staff.
She said she was looking forward to bringing the concerns of parents to the board, as well as being a strong voice for Sandspit.
She said she recognized that Sandspit wasn't in favour of merging its trustee seat with Queen Charlotte's, but she believes it made sense and vowed to work hard for the smaller community.
"We're only a little district," she said, adding that she will be very supportive of keeping the Sandspit school open.