ST. PAUL - About 10 months after the fall election took place in 2021, trustee and now former board chair Heather Starosielski has resigned.
First elected in October of 2010, Starosielski completed a few years as trustee before taking on the role of board chair about nine years ago. She was elected back to the role following the last election by her fellow board members.
On Aug. 31, the board of trustees met for their organizational meeting, which is where Starosielski handed in her resignation.
"This has been on my mind for a little while," said Starosielski, speaking with Lakeland Today, shortly after. She explained that when she was elected in October, she was fully set on finishing out the new term, but discussions with her family over the summer months and other opportunities have resulted in the shift.
"It's just the right time."
Starosielski says that with the recent retirement of superintendent Glen Brodziak, she wanted to stick around long enough for the new superintendent, Peter Barron, to get settled.
With the new school year starting on Sept. 1 across the St. Paul Education school division, Barron has now had a chance to meet many of the people he will be working alongside. During the Aug. 31 board meeting held at 1 p.m., Barron said he was enjoying his time getting to know the community, and had been busy meeting staff members - including bus drivers, administrators, new teachers, and more.
"It's been a whirlwind of meeting people," said Barron.
Goals and passion
Prior to putting her name forward as a school board trustee in 2010, Starosielski was the chair for the school council at École Mallaig School, where her two daughters were students at the time. When she was elected in 2010, she says she was very passionate about rural education, and ensuring the education offered to students in rural communities - such as her daughters - was equal to the opportunities offered in urban centres.
When 2020 roller around, her youngest daughter was among the graduating class from Mallaig School, completing her Grade 12 year when pandemic hit.
As the pandemic continued into the next year, stepping away from the role during such an uncertain time didn't feel right, admits Starosielski. She was encouraged by many people to stick around, so she did.
"No one knew the trajectory we were on."
With the worst of the pandemic hopefully over, a new superintendent now hired, other opportunities looming, and discussions with her family over the summer months, Starosielski made a firm decision to resign.
Though the pandemic sometimes resulted in the community becoming more "polarized," the main focus was always to keep students at the forefront of all decisions, said Starosielski. And while the pandemic was not necessarily the reason behind her resignation, it did play a part in her reasoning to step away.
There's no denying that "the pressure from the pandemic" was felt, admits Starosielski. "It's been a fairly exhaustive last two years."
But, there have been lots of great partnerships formed, and she's confident the school division will continue to find success with everyone working together.
By-election unknown
During the afternoon meeting on Aug. 31, the issue of whether the school division will hold a by-election to fill the now-vacant seat came up briefly. School boards that have six or more trustees are not required to hold a by-election if they only have only one vacancy and it is within year two, three, or four of the term, explained secretary-treasurer Jean Champagne.
So, in this case, since it is now year two, a by-election does not have to be held, although, the board can decide to hold one.
Trustee Dwight Wiebe requested the board table a decision on the matter, since the resignation had only happened that morning. He felt board members needed more time to consider their options.
During the organizational meeting held that same morning, trustee Sylvie Smyl, who is in her first term with the board, was named as the new chair, and trustee Darcy Younghans, also in his first term, was re-elected as vice-chair by fellow board members.
Smyl as chair
In a media release sent out Wednesday evening by St. Paul Education, Smyl offered a comment on being named as the new chair of the board.
"Trustee Starosielski is leaving some big shoes to fill and I thank my fellow trustees for entrusting me with this important role. Our board looks forward to the start of a new school year."
She added, "I want to welcome new Superintendent Peter Barron and look forward to working with him and all stakeholders as we continue to strive for improvement and achievement.”
Regular school board meetings are scheduled for the second Wednesday of each month at 12:30 p.m., throughout the school year.
*This story was updated at 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 31 to reflect Smyl's comments.
