School District 57 Board Chair, Vice-Chair resign

A major shakeup has occurred within School District 57.

Board Chair Trent Derrick and Vice-Chair Shuirose Valimohamed tendered their resignations as trustees this morning (Monday).

SD 57 provided the following comment via news release:

“We are surprised and saddened to hear of these resignations. We learned of these letters this morning and are working to provide media, the public, and our school’s next steps while respecting the policies that the School District has in place.”

The decision for Derrick and Valimohamed to resign comes about a month after the Ministry of Education urged the Prince George School Board to act on a special advisers report, which outlines concerns in the school district, including educational outcomes for Indigenous students, relationships with First Nations communities, allocation of resources, and strategic planning.

Former Prince George School District superintendent Rod Allen will join McGregor and Wilson as a special advisory team to work with the board to:

• ensure trustees understand the recommendations set out by Wilson and McGregor;
• draft a work plan that details how the board will address the recommendations;
• improve district financial planning, including aligning finances with board priorities
• improve staffing resources;
• improve relationships with local First Nations; and
• implement the work plan, as necessary.

The special advisers will submit a final report to outline the progress made by the board in meeting the government’s expectations by March of next year.

The Prince George Board of Education is required to report every two months on its progress. The board’s reporting must include:

• the completion date of the work plan;
• the consultations that informed the work plan, including those with local First Nations;
• the timelines for implementation of the work plan; and
• outcomes from implementing the work plan

A link to the full report can be found here.

SD 57 is in the process of scheduling a media conference at its offices tomorrow (Tuesday).