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Gribbin: A Note from your Trustee

Al Gribbin is School District 8 Trustee
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Al Gribbin is School District 8 Truste. (Black Press file)

By Al Gribbin, School District 8 Trustee

As your trustee, I am required to state that my article does not represent the views of the Board of Trustees of School District #8.

It is with great anticipation that students, parents, teachers, staff, and our communities, look forward to the start of a new school year. Students resolve to do better this year while re-establishing friendships. Parents get a breather as they no longer have to plan each and every day around their children’s needs. Teachers are busy making new lesson plans, getting their classrooms ready for their new students and are looking forward to a paycheque which they have not seen since the end of June.

But as everyone knows, this year is not going to be a typical year. The COVID-19 pandemic forces us to consider the safety of sending our children back to school, and for far too many of us, this concern is compounded by worry about our jobs or maintaining a stable income. This will be a year when we should be aware that many of us are suffering and need to be greeted with a spirit of generosity and a helping hand.

We are constantly hearing updates on the ongoing medical research relating to Covid-19. Indeed what we thought was good advice regarding the risk, spread, and treatment of this disease five months ago, has been revised numerous times and will likely be revised many more times. The plans we have for students, teachers, and staffs’ return to school have also been regularly revised and we should expect this process to continue, making long term planning difficult. If there is a consistent theme, it is that we need to expect change because change will happen.

One unexpected change that we are seeing here in Creston is the loss of Principal Scott Cobbe from PCSS, as he will be completing his final two years before retirement in the role of school Principal on Vancouver Island. As our Principal, Scott was not only dedicated to the fair and careful operation of our community secondary school but also to our larger community. During the hiring process for a new principal, I heard from parents, teachers, staff, and students that the replacement that we needed to find should have the same qualities as Principal Cobbe. He will be missed, especially his steady hand during these times of uncertainty.

We also need to welcome the new PCSS principal, Brian Hamm and his wife, Kyla, with their two young children, Lachlan and Charlotte to our community. I know that they will be made to feel welcome in our community and they can count on our help as they adjust to moving back to British Columbia.

The Board of Trustees are once again considering censuring me as they apparently have a problem with me communicating my position on board issues through the press and don’t seem to like the fact that I continue to challenge them on my past censure. The reality is that I will continue to express my views whether or not they issue another censure, since that is what you expect of me. I have offered to resolve this issue through mediation or arbitration in an impartial hearing but to date, the board has chosen to follow its own process. I will, however, keep the people of Creston updated.