School District No. 46 (SD46) has cut one principal position at Sechelt Elementary School, plus reduced administrative hours and down-graded principal positions to vice-principal positions at newly-annexed Davis Bay Elementary School, Madeira Park Elementary School, and Langdale Elementary School, starting this fall.
Assistant superintendent Tom Hierck said amalgamating Sechelt Elementary into Kinnikinnick next year has cut one administrative position, and reducing administrative hours at the annexes by nearly half has cut a second.
"Overall, with the plan moving forward, we've reduced the equivalent of two full-time administrators, so that's a significant savings in the budget," he said.
SD46 said John Lussier, current principal of West Sechelt Elementary School, will be returning to classroom teaching this fall. It also said Gregory Walters, who has been on a leave of absence as principal at Halfmoon Bay Elementary School, is leaving the district to take a principal position at a school in the Lower Mainland.
"The school district has appreciated the strong leadership provided by these two positive educators," Hierck said. "Gregory brought his passion for literacy and the written word to this role and led the Halfmoon Bay School community to positive results in this area. John's 14 years of leadership in three schools have also highlighted the important role literacy plays, as he has been a strong advocate for school libraries."
SD46 recently decided to group the districts' schools into three "family groupings": Pender Harbour, Sechelt and Gibsons. Under this new structure, the district is establishing budgets and staffing for the whole "family grouping," and smaller schools have been annexed to larger schools.
Administrative appointments for the Pender Harbour group are: principals Nancy Brindley and Fred Thorsell at Pender Harbour Secondary; principal Ray Clayton at Halfmoon Bay Elementary School; and vice-principal Thorsell at Madeira Park Elementary School.
For Sechelt, appointments are: principal John Brisebois and vice-principal Vanessa Clarke at Chatelech Secondary School; principal Susan Budgell at West Sechelt Elementary School; principal Ann Skelcher at Kinnikinnick Elementary School; and vice-principal Bob McCubbin at Davis Bay Elementary School.
For Gibsons, appointments are: principal John Clements and vice-principal Paul Bishop at Elphinstone Secondary School; principal Gloria McBain at Roberts Creek Elementary School; principal Mark Heidebrecht at Gibsons Elementary School; principal Cathy McCubbin at Cedar Grove Elementary School; and vice-principal Dave Hunt at Langdale Elementary School.
In February 2011, four administrators will assume leadership of different schools, with Cathy McCubbin becoming principal of Kinnikinnick; Hunt becoming principal of Cedar Grove; Skelcher becoming vice-principal of Davis Bay; and Bob McCubbin becoming vice-principal of Langdale.
"We always look to switch up in terms of our leadership pieces," Hierck said. "Having someone come in new in September is not always the greatest in terms of them getting up to speed with what's going on in the school, so a mid-year shift allows them to go in and, in essence, get the lay of the land."
Hierck said the district has started the process for teacher placements, and will have a teacher placement meeting in early May.
"Hopefully we don't end up having anyone who loses their job," he said. "We've had some retirements that will be known shortly, so maybe that helps to cover off, but there will definitely be some teachers who are re-located, based on the enrolment numbers that continue to decline."
Hierck said the district is also beginning to look at support staff positions for the fall.
"[The Canadian Union of Public Employees'] process is that once a school is closed, as Sechelt [will be], then there is no work for that employee there, and then they get to exercise their bumping rights, so then it goes through a seniority process," he said, noting that some support staff positions will nonetheless continue at Sechelt Elementary.
