The Richmond School District will have a new superintendent shortly after students arrive back to classes from winter break in January.
On Thursday, the Richmond Board of Education announced it had chosen Sherry Elwood to replace retiring superintendent Monica Pamer, this February.
“We felt she had some strong visionary leadership and she has a wealth of experience, especially in the special needs area,” said trustee Debbie Tablotney, who recently took over from trustee Eric Yung as the board’s chair in an uncontested vote this month.
According to Tablotney, an important factor for the board’s trustees to consider in choosing Elwood was that she already has experience working as a superintendent in Comox Valley School District, and she had recently guided her district through a long-range facilities review.
Richmond is facing its own facilities review, whereby the district must decide on what schools to close, as it has residual capacity equal to five elementary and two secondary schools. So far, under Pamer, the district has consulted with the public but has made no decision as to which schools must close.
Comox’s review is further ahead in the process as it has already identified one school to close.
Richmond must amalgamate students in order for schools to be closer to capacity, thus meeting provincial guidelines to receive funding for seismic upgrades.
As it stands, thousands of Richmond students are at risk of serious injury or death, given that 24 of its schools are considered a high-risk of failure in the event of a major earthquake hitting the region.
Tablotney said she wasn’t sure when the first school could close. She said she would ideally like to have all school properties stay in control of the district.
“I personally want to see how that land can be used first. Could it be repurposed? Could it be used for community amenities, such as Kilgour being used for Francophone education, or Rideau for continuing education?” asked Tablotney.
Answers to those questions will soon be left to Elwood. Meanwhile, the district is continuing with a review of its policies.
Tablotney said for the most part the reviews are meant to streamline policies that may be out of date. For instance the board recently updated the district’s video recording policies.
There are at least two controversial policies scheduled for review in the near future: corporate funding and an inclusive policy for gay and transgender children.
Elwood was assistant superintendent in Comox in 2010 when that district adopted a specific policy for such students.
There, the board recognized such students “face a unique set of challenges within our schools and communities, including being targets for discriminatory behaviours.”
Trustee Sandra Nixon has called for more discussion on the matter, including a policy similar to Comox and the majority of districts in B.C. Pamer told the board in September that the administration is reviewing the district’s code of conduct and results would be brought forth in the spring of 2016.
Elwood is also the current president of the B.C. School Superintendents Association. She could not be reached for comment.
