Egbert Stang is no longer superintendent of the Pembina Hills school division.
A four-sentence media release issued late Monday, Dec. 5, said Stang's last day with the division was Dec. 4. It did not say if Stang resigned or was terminated.
When contacted Friday about the fact he’s no longer a Pembina Hills employee, Stang deflected it back on trustees.
“You know what, that’s a question you should ask the board chair and the vice chair and maybe the deputy superintendent with Pembina Hills,” said Stang, adding that he plans to release a statement this coming week explaining his departure.
“They have the answer.”
Board chairman Doug Fleming wouldn't say why Stang is no longer an employee.
“I can’t make a comment on that because it’s back to that whole question of privacy and confidentiality and it’s a personnel matter. We’re not in a position to make a comment. That’s the law of the land,” said Fleming, adding that trustees are expected to discuss filling the superintendent’s chair sometime in 2012.
“It really has nothing to do with the teachers and the work that they’re doing on behalf of kids. Our kids continue to do well in school, as you saw by the annual education results report. Our teachers are teaching and that’s our main focus and that’s what we need to continue to focus on.”
The Westlock News has learned that Stang was present at the division’s annual Christmas party held Saturday, Dec. 3, in Westlock — 24-hours before he left the employ of Pembina Hills. And although Fleming wouldn’t confirm whether the board held a special meeting in regards to Stang, the Dec. 14 agenda for the regular Pembina Hills board meeting in Barrhead includes a listing for a special Dec. 3 board meeting.
“I would say they’re unrelated,” Fleming said when asked about Stang’s attendance at the party. “The Christmas party was intended to celebrate and thank our staff. It had nothing to do with it.”
Senior administrators throughout the school division were notified that Stang was no longer an employee via videoconference on Monday morning (Dec. 5) and were told to inform staff that afternoon. In the interim, Deputy Supt. Colleen Symyrozum-Watt will serve as division boss.
“I am thankful for the leadership experience Egbert provided as in many ways it has set the foundation for some of our initiatives that we have undertaken like the distributed learning strategy,” said Symyrozum-Watt Thursday.
This announcement comes just over a year after former Supt. Richard Harvey parted ways with Pembina Hills. The division has never said whether Harvey resigned or was terminated.
Asked point blank if the two cases are related, Fleming paused, then answered, “No.”
Stang, whose hiring announcement was made in May 2010, was initially supposed to take over from Harvey at the end of 2010. Due to Harvey’s sudden departure at the end of October 2010, Stang began his tenure Nov. 1.
During a short interview Dec. 9, Stang himself noted that it is “pretty curious” that two superintendents have come and gone in just over a year.
Alberta Education typically does not get involved in personnel matters with school boards, as it is out of the ministry’s jurisdiction, according to spokesperson Donna McColl.
“It wouldn’t be in our policy to get involved, nor do we have any jurisdiction to get involved in the employment issues,” she said. “The board can have its own investigation and the employee has the usual avenues to challenge anything, but it’s certainly not within the ministry’s rules and responsibilities.”
Previously, Stang served as superintendent of the Elk Island Public School Division for three years. Prior to that he also headed the Clearview School Division and taught at schools outside of Alberta.
