Last Thursday, Aspen View Public Schools Division superintendent Brian LeMessurier announced that after 34 years of working for the division, he would be retiring at the end of the school year.
The announcement was somewhat unexpected, as last fall he signed on for another two-year term as superintendent.
Current school board chair and returning trustee Paul Ponich said LeMessurier will be missed.
“We were disappointed,” Ponich said. “He has been doing such a terrific job.”
Ponich said the news was shocking.
“We really weren’t expecting it this soon,” he said. “It is his intention to retire. He hasn’t given us a written resignation yet, so we can’t start the process of looking for someone else.”
Associate superintendent Derm Madden said finding another LeMessurier will be tough.
“It is going to be really tough to replace someone like him,” Madden said. “Brian was born in Athabasca. He grew up here; he went to school here. He has dedicated his whole life to this community.”
Madden said he knows LeMessurier well: they worked together at Landing Trail Intermediate School and at division office. Madden was superintendent prior to LeMessurier taking over the role.
“It is wonderful that he became the superintendent, and we are going to miss him,” Madden said. “He has been a great ambassador for the community, and he has been a great friend, a very strong educator, and a great principal and a great superintendent.”
Most recently, LeMessurier has been lobbying for government funding to build a new secondary school near the Athabasca Regional Multiplex. No government decision on the proposal has yet been made.
Madden said LeMessurier is looking forward to retiring.
“I think with the new board, they will do the right thing and will find someone to replace him who will fit, and we’ll proceed,” he said.
LeMessurier could not be reached for comment at time of press.
