Administrative changes in School District No. 46 (SD46) were met with anger at the May 8 school board meeting where Sechelt Indian Band (SIB) Chief Garry Feschuk pressed the board to rethink the changes and talk to the SIB.
He said the recently announced decision to move Aboriginal principal Kerry Mahlman to a principal position at Madeira Park Elementary School this August breaks a strong Aboriginal education partnership that has been formed between SD46 and the Sechelt Nation.
Mahlman will be tasked with continuing her support of the Aboriginal education program as part of her new leadership responsibilities. However, the SIB would rather see her remain in the role they've become accustomed to.
"Kerry has been one of the leaders in the school district that continues to address Aboriginal student success and has understanding of the gaps that have been created over the last decade," Feschuk said, noting the change comes at a difficult time when the SIB is poised to introduce new Aboriginal programs and services for schools. "You have woken up our Nation and we are now going to fight for our children."
Board chair Silas White said SD46 had been trying to meet with the SIB to discuss the changes before they were finalized and pledged to set up a meeting soon to talk with SIB chief and council.
"Absolutely we'll have a meeting and we'll arrange that as soon as possible. We already have some calls in," White said.
He explained that although the principal positions for the new school year have been finalized, there could be further discussions on how the Aboriginal education department is staffed.
In an interview after Tuesday's meeting, superintendent of schools Patrick Bocking said the change will actually result in more support for Aboriginal education in SD46.
"When you consider the math of it, we're actually increasing the net number of staff because a district principal has a higher salary than another staff member, a counsellor for instance or a teacher," Bocking said, adding SD46 is looking at hiring a new teacher for the program.
"We are still working on what exactly that position will be. We'll be working with our secondary principals and with Kerry to talk about how we can best support the academic needs of Aboriginal kids."
The fact SD46 is still finalizing the next steps for the Aboriginal education program after already deciding to pull Mahlman is upsetting to trustee Lori Dixon, who voiced her displeasure at the May 8 school board meeting and in a follow up phone call with Coast Reporter.
"You don't initiate change without consulting with the people being affected by the change, setting up a transition process and maybe taking the time to fine tune the program," Dixon told Coast Reporter.
At the May 8 meeting, she scolded her own board for making the decision without more discussion. "These things were presented to us, and not even a week later, they were so," she said.
The new administrative assignments announced by SD46 will also see Fred Thorsell leave Elphinstone Secondary School to take over at Chatelech Secondary School and Chat's principal John Brisebois move to Elphi. Phil Luporini will become the district principal in charge of careers and technology. Madeira Park Elementary's current principal Brian Johnson will retire before Mahlman takes over in August.
