R.F. Staples High School will have new principal this fall as Dave Garbutt is taking a job at the Pembina Hills school division central office.
Garbutt, who is in his first year as principal of R.F. Staples, has accepted a promotion to become Pembina Hills’ assistant superintendent of employee services, facilities and transportation.
“I’m committed to staying in this school division,” Garbutt said. “So I’m going over to regional office.”
A principal for over 15 years, including a stint as head of Barrhead Composite High School, Garbutt said it was time to take on a new challenge.
“I’ve been in school administration for over 16 years, this was an opportunity that came up within the division — there’s not a lot of positions at regional office. It falls in line with what I’m interested in,” he said. “
Garbutt said while he looks forward to assuming his new gig, he enjoyed his time at R.F. Staples.
“I really enjoy working with kids, and this role will be somewhat different,” he said.
“The kids, I wouldn’t say are out of the picture because that’s what we always focus on, but not having the direct contact on a day-to-day basis (will be different).
“You get used to having a certain job, and my job has always been to work with kids, so that was really the toughest part of the decision for me.”
Garbutt added if he hadn’t been the successful candidate for the job, he would have happily remained at R.F. Staples.
School division Supt. Colleen Symyrozum-Watt said Garbutt’s experience will make him a welcome addition.
“We had a number of candidates that applied for the position. We screened and interviewed a number of candidates, and from that rigorous recruiting process he came out as our top candidate,” Symyrozum-Watt. “He brings a wealth of experiential background to schools and also employee services.”
Symyrozum-Watt said the school division is now in the process of finding Garbutt’s successor.
“Our process for replacing a principal goes like this: we have a discussion, we post the position, and then we have a discussion with staff as well as the community,” she said. “Staff will often bring the student perspective as to what type of a leader are we looking for when we are recruiting.”
A rigorous interview process then follows, which involves both written and face-to-face portions.
“From the information we get from our staff and our community, we develop our behavioural questions which will be asked to the short-listed candidates in the interview,” Symyrozum-Watt said. “There is also a component in that interview which involves a written aspect, as well as an interview aspect.
“We would figure out who our best candidate is and offer the position at that point.”
Symyrozum-Watt said the ad for the position closes May 29 and she would like to proceed with interviews the following week.
Garbutt said the school division should have its sights set on someone who can build upon the roots already established.
“I think they’re going to be looking for somebody to take it to the next level,” Garbutt said.
“The types of qualities I think that they should be looking for is somebody that’s going to be open-minded, approachable, willing to work with all the partners in education — the parents, the kids, the staff — somebody that puts kids first.
“If they get that sort of candidate, this school is going to do extremely well.”
