So begins another school year, full of promise for the hundreds of students who are stepping into the classroom for the first time and the thousands more in Pembina Hills, Evergreen Catholic and beyond.
To be sure the leaders of the respective school communities within Westlock County are well poised to oversee another successful year at their respective institutions. Let it never be said that our teachers are doing anything but their very best — it’s not always an easy job but is beyond measure one of the most important ones there is.
And the hopeful words from PHRD’s top official, Colleen Symyrozum-Watt, about what this school year will bring are encouraging. She has a long history with the division, and is certainly well-poised to oversee a successful year. There is no reason to believe she will be anything but successful in her first full year as superintendent. But the lack of any meaningful answers about what happened to her two predecessors who left the post under dubious circumstances unfortunately continues to cast a shadow over the workings of the division at the highest levels.
After nearly two years we still don’t even know if Richard Harvey was fired or if he quit when his time with the division came to an end in October 2010. We do know that his successor, Egbert Stang, was fired by trustees and earned a golden handshake worth about $120,000 in severance pay. There’s no indication, however, of what kind of infraction makes it worth that many taxpayer dollars disappearing along with him.
The news this week that the RCMP’s Commercial Crimes Unit has completed their investigation into an allegation of fraud at the division is certainly reason for a cautious optimism that we might finally get some answers as to what’s been going on.
As parents and taxpayers in this community, we must continue to insist upon getting the answers that will make sure the people tasked with such an important job as overseeing the education of our children take responsibility for both the good and the bad.
Unfortunately, if past results are any indication of future performance, we have little reason to believe that will be the case.
