BARRHEAD – Pembina Hills School Division needs to do more work in advocacy, especially when it comes to communicating with elected officials.
This was the consensus of trustees during their Jan. 17 meeting in Barrhead.
Secretary-treasurer Heather Nanninga said the trustees created an advocacy and stakeholder engagement plan at the start of their term. Now that they are about midway through their term, it is time for them to review it.
"It also gives you a chance to consider your priorities and what we want our MLAs to pitch for us," she said.
East - Ward 2 trustee Sherri Allen said that although she felt the advocacy sessions or meetings with their MLAs (Athabasca-Barrhead Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken and Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland MLA Shane Getson) and municipal elected officials have been valuable, she feels they need to make the most of the opportunity.
"I believe we need to follow up and reconnect," she said, adding that meeting with their elected officials does nothing good if they forget about it after it's over.
Supt. Michael Borgfjord said trustees might consider meeting with other stakeholders, such as the Chamber of Commerce, saying they have a vested interest in school programming.
Borgfjord also noted the municipalities have also expressed interest in being involved in helping shape school programming.
"Woodlands County has indicated they are interested in things such as agri-farms. Is that something we want to follow up on, and if there are some opportunities for potential partnership?" Borgfjord asked.
He added that Westlock County had also expressed interest in potentially creating an aviation program at the school. Later in the meeting, he also noted that Getson, a pilot, had expressed a similar interest.
Borgfjord also noted that Pembina Hills had met several times at the administrative level with the Barrhead municipalities about the modernization of Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS), which might be something the board could pursue further.
He said if they did, he would put together a summary document of potential stakeholder groups and bring it to the next trustee meeting for consideration.
East - Ward 3 trustee David Truckey, appearing via teleconference, suggested that given the recent Town of Westlock by-election, in which residents selected a new mayor and councillor, they should consider meeting with the municipality before the end of the school year. Truckey was elected as the councillor in the by-election.
East - Ward 1 trustee Maureen Schnirer, also appearing remotely, agreed that trustees should meet and follow up with municipalities and the MLAs. Still, it has to be part of a more extensive engagement and advocacy strategy.
"We also need to bring forward concerns of the smaller schools and parent councils [especially in the meetings with the MLAs] that don't have the same access," she said. "Things like food security, nutrition programs and the shelter belt tree program where if [municipalities] had extra trees, they could donate them to schools to plant to help our environmental initiatives."
Schnirer reiterated the need for the board to have a comprehensive strategy before meeting with MLAs and elected municipal officials and that they needed to meet more frequently.
"Because you can't build relationships with just one meeting," she said.
Truckey agreed, suggesting the board invite the MLAs and municipal representatives to an informal social gathering.
"We could invite the towns and counties of Barrhead, Westlock, Swan Hills towns, along with Woodlands County to the Busby School gym, something low key, with low cost, but that could potentially yield high returns in networking."
