Burnaby's new school board holds its first meeting on November 24

Burnaby's seven newly elected school trustees hold the Board of Education's inaugural session on November 24, 2026 at 7:00 pm, according to the Burnaby Schools events page. All seven ran with BCA, the Burnaby Citizens Association, and won their seats on October 17. They take over a school district that is still responding to a ransomware attack that put student and staff data at risk.

Who was elected

The City of Burnaby's official results at elections.burnaby.ca show seven trustees elected on October 17, 2026. All ran with BCA - Burnaby Citizens Association:

• Kristin Schnider: 21,994 votes
• Bill Brassington: 21,341 votes
• Hillary Bergshoeff: 20,678 votes
• Jen Mezei: 19,876 votes
• Paul Kwon: 19,772 votes
• Stephen Andrada: 19,624 votes
• Colin Zuo: 18,497 votes

16 candidates ran for seven seats. The vote counts are from the City of Burnaby's official results at elections.burnaby.ca.

The November 24 meeting

The Burnaby Schools events page lists the inaugural public meeting on Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 7:00 pm at the District Administration Office, 4054 Norfolk Street. The meeting is open to the public. No agenda has been posted yet. The Burnaby Schools homepage events calendar shows the next regular public meeting after the inaugural session on December 15, 2026 at 7:00 pm, at the same address.

The Board's agenda and minutes page at burnabyschools.ca shows that the November 2022 inaugural meeting included a board chair report and minutes. No agenda for the November 24, 2026 session has been posted yet.

The cyberattack the new trustees inherit

The incoming trustees take over a district still responding to a ransomware attack discovered on September 21, 2026. The district's incident update page at burnabyschools.ca, last updated November 3, says an unauthorized party gained access to district systems, copied files, and stole personal information from students, parents, guardians and staff.

According to the district's own incident page, affected information may include:

• General information about students, parents and guardians for 2024 and 2026: names, contact details, Personal Education Numbers, dates of birth, grades and schools
• Student registration documents, which may include residency documentation such as leases, utility bills or identity papers
• Kindergarten assessment notes and projections from 2021 to 2025, with notes on student needs
• Lists of students receiving specialized learning supports, together with brief descriptions of their needs

In a smaller number of cases, bus routing information, student intervention records and other student assessments were also affected, the district's page says.

The district has reported the matter to Burnaby RCMP and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC. Phone service at schools was restored on September 28 and access to the family portal was restored on October 1. As of November 3, the investigation is ongoing.

As an added step, the district offered students registration with TransUnion's Fraud Alert Database on October 14. The same offer was made to current and former staff on October 1.

What the trustees have promised

voche.me's promise tracker at /bc/burnaby-2026/tracker records every commitment each elected person made during the campaign. All seven trustees share the BCA's platform promises for schools, and each has their own individual pledges on top.

School funding and facilities. The BCA's 2026 platform, as recorded at the voche.me tracker, commits the trustees to press the Ministry of Education and Child Care for predictable, stable funding that grows as Burnaby grows, and for the money to provide learning supports students need. On buildings, the platform calls for making the case for three new schools: Brentwood West, Bainbridge Village and Brentwood East, and for new buildings to replace Cameron and Maywood schools. It also calls for inclusive child care in every new school.

AI and data. The BCA platform says the trustees will work with teachers, support staff, unions and experts to set clear rules for AI in schools that protect student data and mental health, and will bring community input into AI governance decisions. These commitments were made before the September ransomware attack.

Programs and student well-being. The platform commits to growing the school meals program, expanding after-school programs open to all families, and expanding swimming and lifeguard programs to every student.

Inclusion. The BCA platform says the trustees will keep the district's sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) policy strong, advance equity and accessibility across the district, and recommit to meaningful reconciliation.

Trustee Kristin Schnider also made individual pledges in the Freshet News candidate questionnaire: to protect classroom supports while keeping the budget balanced, to work with the Ministry to add child care at school sites, and to work with the City to keep the Michael J. Fox Theatre open to the public. Her own words, as quoted in the questionnaire: "Together, we must continue to advocate for increased public education funding and protect vital classroom supports with a lens to equity and inclusion."

None of these commitments have been acted on yet. All are listed as not started in the voche.me tracker, because the new board's term begins with the November 24 inaugural session.

What residents can do

The November 24 inaugural session is open to the public. It will be held at 4054 Norfolk Street, Burnaby, at 7:00 pm. The Burnaby Schools events page at burnabyschools.ca will post the agenda before the meeting.

Families affected by the ransomware attack who want to register with TransUnion's Fraud Alert Database can find the offer on the district's incident update page at burnabyschools.ca/incident-impacting-operations/. Former staff who received direct notice from the district can also access the same service there.

voche.me will record each trustee's votes and promise updates at /bc/burnaby-2026/tracker as the term proceeds. Each person's page is linked from the tracker.