Here we go again.
As we all know by now, the Pembina Hills school division finds itself without a superintendent under fairly suspicious circumstances.
And once again, no one is saying anything about what those circumstances are.
Needless to say, but it’s worth repeating anyway, that is completely unacceptable.
Since the story first broke less than a month ago, very few details have emerged about what caused the change in the employment status of Supt. Egbert Stang.
Pembina Hills chair Doug Fleming refuses to say whether Stang quit or was fired.
Stang himself won’t say either. However, reading between the lines of his statement to the Westlock News that he found it “quite curious” that the division has gone through two superintendents since October 2010 could lead to the conclusion it was not Stang who decided to part company with the division.
With no one willing to talk about the situation in any detail, drastic and arguably unnecessary measures are needed.
So once again we and the Westlock News find ourselves in the same position we were after the sudden departure of former Supt. Richard Harvey — needing to rely on Alberta’s Freedom of Information and Privacy legislation to find out what is going on.
This is arguably unnecessary because the division should by all rights be willing to answer our questions without the added step of us having to wade through the FOIP regulations.
Pembina Hills is a public institution paid for by our tax dollars. As the old adage goes, “he who has the money calls the shots.” As Pembina Hills is taxpayer-funded and charged with the care of our children, it stands to reason it should be forthcoming with all information about how it spends our money.
That Fleming cited privacy concerns regarding whether or not severance packages are doled out is especially galling. If money is being paid to someone who is no longer an employee of the division, we as taxpayers need to know that information.
We should not be required to expend additional time and effort, and potentially money, dealing with bureaucratic red tape when the simplest solution would be to have the parties involved answer our questions.
But let’s back up a minute and tone down our indignation. This isn’t so much about us as it is about the taxpayers whose hard-earned money pays the salaries of all members of Pembina Hills.
Should they not be allowed to know where their money is going? Should they not be allowed to say, “Wait a minute! I want to see value for my money, and right now I’m not getting that.”?
The public needs to know what is going on at Pembina Hills. The public needs to know why Pembina Hills is out two superintendents in only 14 months.
And we intend to find out.
