Holy Spirit Catholic School Division election questions

Posted on October 16, 2025 by Sunny South News

As part of our ongoing municipal election coverage, the News provided all municipal and school board candidates with the opportunity to answer a series of questions relevant to the elected positions they seek. Below are the responses from the candidates in the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division Ward 1 race. 

Questions

1. What made you want to run for the school board?

2. What do you view as the top infrastructure priorities for the division?

3. Does Holy Spirit need to see significant change, and if so, what does that look like?

4. How important do you feel collaboration is between board members when discussing issues and coming to decisions?

5. What’s the biggest issues facing Holy Spirit?

Frances Cote

1) Twelve years ago, I was in admiration of our former trustee, who is now a mentor. I care about our students, parents and staff at St. Joseph School. I am committed to supporting equitable funding for our schools. School should be a safe place for students to learn and thrive.

2) Our top priorities right now (are) the building of our new elementary school on the west side of Lethbridge (opening in 2026). We have the value-scoping of St. Francis Junior High School in Lethbridge. And the right-sizing of St. Michael’s School in Bow Island.

3) No, we don’t need to see significant change.

4) Every board member has a view of a situation discussed, and all viewpoints need to be heard and considered. This is why it’s essential to have board representation from many walks of life.

5) Adequate funding to provide proper staffing and programs to meet the needs of our students.

Kevin Kinahan

1) After 35 years as a teacher and administrator in the Catholic School Division, I have decided to run as trustee in Coaldale in order to put my school experience to use at the board level.  I am passionate about Catholic education and about rural education and will be a strong voice for all rural schools in the Holy Spirit Division.  I have been an administrator in five different schools and during this time have worked on many division committees as well as on the ATA, Teacher Welfare Committee and provincial committees both for the division and for ATA.  I understand well the need for a positive relationship between the board and teachers.

In my 33 years of living in Coaldale, I have also been a constant volunteer working with St. Ambrose Parish on many different committees as well as supporting the youth through the Knights of Columbus as well as Search Retreats.  I know well the importance of a strong partnership between home, school and parish for the best Catholic education possible for our students.  My own children have gone on to do Catholic missionary work through NET (National Evangelization Teams) in Canada, Ireland and Australia.

I want to bring my experience as a parent, teacher, administrator and parish/youth volunteer to the Catholic Board.

2) St. Joseph School in Coaldale is one of 16 current schools in the division with a new elementary school being built on the west side of Lethbridge to open in the fall of 2026.  There are definitely some schools on the older side that need modernization or a complete re-build such as St. Francis Jr. High in Lethbridge and St. Michael’s School in Bow Island.  Other schools are needing a little bit of help also and I would put St. Joseph School in that mix. There is definitely some updating that needs to be done but one of the key additions that I will be pushing for is to have air conditioning put into any school that currently does not have any.

3) I don’t believe Holy Spirit needs significant change either at the administrative level or at the board level.  However, I do believe that there should always be a little bit of constant change taking place.  As a school-based administrator for over 20 years, the longest I had ever stayed at one school was six years before moving to another school.  This allowed me to bring my skill set to a new school as well as a new administrator to come to the school I was leaving with their skill set.  I believe this always kept myself and the schools fresh and energized.

Within the past couple of years Holy Spirit has seen a new superintendent, deputy superintendent and secretary treasurer already making a very significant change at the administrative level.  At the board level, six of the nine trustees were first time trustees at the last election in 2021 which was quite a significant change already.  However, as I mentioned before I believe that there should always be a little bit of turnover to allow for new ideas and differing opinions to be a part of the decision-making process.  

4) I feel that collaboration is extremely important and it is always best to come to a consensus when making decisions.  However, sometimes when coming to a consensus there may need to be some hard and difficult conversations and I am never afraid to speak up for my community and what I feel would be best for the Holy Spirit District as a whole.  I understand that whatever board decisions are made, as one member of the board I would always support the decision of the entire board.

5) The biggest issues facing the Holy Spirit Division as well as education in Coaldale are similar to education in Alberta as a whole – funding!!  Not only are the class sizes in Coaldale growing but the complexity of the classes is increasing as well, specifically in Coaldale where we see an increase in English language learners.  Rural education in other smaller schools in the district have issues of having to combine classes such as a Gr. 3/4/5 combined class due to small numbers.  It is a difficult balance to fund all schools appropriately.  I will be a strong voice for rural, Catholic education.