The make-up of the Coast Mountains School District has dramatically changed in the past week thanks to the sudden departure of the superintendent and the secretary treasurer, leaving the local teachers’ union concerned about the affects on education programs and proposed school reconfigurations.

Superintendent Rob Greenwood, a teacher and administrator with over 20 years experience, submitted his letter of resignation last Thursday, October 14, and retired the following day. Secretary Treasurer Linda Brown had her last day of work with the district on Tuesday, October 19; it is unclear whether she resigned or her position was terminated.

“Linda Brown is not working for the school district anymore, and we will be shortly looking for a new secretary treasurer,” Barry Pankhurst, chair of the Coast Mountain School Board, told the Tyee, adding it is a personnel matter and he will not comment further.

Greenwood’s resignation was not unexpected, according to Pankhurst, who said it had been a topic of conversation between the two for at least a year. Brent Speidel, the board’s director of instruction, has already temporarily filled his position until an interim superintendent is hired, while Alanna Cameron, the director of finance, will take on the role of secretary treasurer temporarily. Speidel will continue in his role as director of instruction while acting as superintendent, but the director of finance position will remain vacant.

Pankhurst says the board is adamant the new interim superintendent is involved in the hiring of Brown’s replacement, so the board will wait until the interim superintendent is hired before starting their search for a secretary treasurer. Pankhurst hopes that, with the assistance of the ministry of education and the British Columbia Public School Employees Association, a shortlist of potential candidates for the position will be completed in two to three months.

But the Terrace District Teachers’ Union is concerned about the instability this district shakeup will cause when public consultations on the closure of Thornhill Junior High the reconfiguration of Skeena Junior High and Caledonia Senior Secondary are just beginning.

“If a new superintendent comes in and gets hired, is he or she going to agree with this new philosophy? And so I think with not knowing who the superintendent and secretary treasurer are, having these consultations with parents and with teachers for something that might not happen, or that the new team doesn’t agree on, seems a little hasty,” Karen Andrews, president of the teachers’ union, told the Tyee.

Andrews is also concerned the absence of a director of finance and the double roles Speidel will have to play will have a negative affect on challenges the district already faces, including serving an abnormally high number of special needs children.

“In Terrace-Thornhill, on average, we have 22 per cent of our students that are identified as special needs. That means in every classroom from K to 7, there are five identified students on average,” Andrews told the Tyee. “And without the secretary treasurer in place, we have concerns about the funding of our educational programs and the ability to support these students. However I should say we have an acting secretary treasurer and she, like the acting superintendent, has the legal ability to sign documents.”