MacKenzie running for Pemberton trustee position

A former principal of Signal Hill Elementary School is hoping that Pemberton residents will select her as the village’s representative at the Sea to Sky School District board table next month.

Pat MacKenzie, who served as Signal Hill principal for five years before retiring in 2010, said Monday (Oct. 3) she’ll be running for the Pemberton trustee’s position.

“I still have a passion for education,” said MacKenzie. “Short of being very cliché, I really believe in education as being the way to good citizenship.

“I feel I’m bringing some experience and wide knowledge between (working in) two school districts — from teaching to administration. I thought it was a natural progression to the school board.”

MacKenzie spent 20 years teaching in the Sea to Sky and Fort Nelson school districts while serving for another 11 years in administrative roles. She has remained involved in education since her retirement, working as a faculty associate for the University of British Columbia observing student teachers.

MacKenzie said it’s important to her that parents within a district feel like their concerns are being listened to.

“Having been a principal, I’ve listened to a lot of parents that came in and they want to be heard, too, but sometimes they don’t feel like they’re heard,” said MacKenzie. “I think that’s what I brought when I was principal there… I really wanted to listen to parents and work on their problems within the school… and create a common understanding and appreciation for each point of view.”

Current Pemberton trustee Dave Walden informed The Question this week that he would not seek another appointment to the school board. Coming to the end of his second term as trustee, Walden said he’s proud of some of the work the board has done during his time.

“I think we’ve come a long way in making education the focus at the board table —seeking to make schools good, safe places for children to learn and improving academic results,” he said. “We’re starting to see some of those things happening.”

Meanwhile, Rebecca Barley said Tuesday (Oct. 4) that she will be running for another term as Electoral Area C trustee.

An environmental consultant residing in D’Arcy, Barley said she came to the decision recently after a positive experience in her first three years as trustee.

“I offer a pretty unique perspective to the board because I live (rurally), I’m at the furthest end of the district out in D’Arcy, I was educated K to 12 in the district and I have three kids currently in the system,” said Barley.

“I think we have a fantastic board coming from all walks of life. We’ve handled situations well — we’ve had a number of issues arise in the district, funding constraints, challenges, enrolment numbers — and I think we’ve made some pretty well-informed, if not difficult, decisions.”

Barley said she hopes to see labour negotiations with the B.C. Teachers’ Federation reach a conclusion and carry on some of the work the board has accomplished during her single term.

“I’d like to continue some of the work we’re doing with assessment for learning, recognizing that our students learn differently and how to meet the needs of all of them,” she said.

Barley added that the board also needs to keep in mind the diverse makeup of the Sea to Sky district.

“It’s a large area that we’re covering,” she said. “There are communities that are very remote and others that are very affluent, and there is higher concentration of First Nations students in some areas as well.”