Independent media needs you. Join the Tyee.

The Hook: Political news, freshly caught

Vancouver School Board seeking PR professional

Two months after cutting their communications employees to save money, the Vancouver School Board has announced it's hiring for a new public relations position.

In April the district laid off eight district managers, including the communications manager, communications specialist, and the superintendent's assistant, in order to compensate for an $8.4 million budget shortfall. Board Chair Patti Bacchus says Superintendent Steve Cardwell recommended the creation of this new position to fill the void left behind by the loss of those roles, but at a cheaper price.

"There was a budget maintained for communications within the budget, so we didn't take all of the savings," says Bacchus.

"This is a recommendation of the superintendent on reviewing operational needs: looking at the revised management structure is what would best suit the needs of the organization, and his recommendation has been this one position at a lower level than what we had had, and then some flexibility for specific projects to bring in expertise, and some functions in the interim have been covered by existing staff."

The new position would make less than the communications manager, but for the actual salary Bacchus referred The Tyee to Superintendent Steve Cardwell. Superintendent Cardwell could not be reached by press time.

Bacchus says the new position will have a job description that reflects the current media and communications environment, including a particular focus on social media. The previous positions hadn't been updated in quite some time, she says, recalling that when she joined the board in 2008 the district was mainly using paper notifications and internal newsletters.

"With the traditional structure of a manager—and they were good people with good experience—the nature of the job has changed dramatically in the last few years with the media environment," she told The Tyee.

"We've shifted to a recognized need to use social media to get our message out more effectively than we've been able to do with the traditional roles. It's a different job."

Katie Hyslop reports on Education for the Tyee Solutions Society.

Find more in:

What have we missed? What do you think? We want to know. Comment below. Keep in mind:

Do:

  • Verify facts, debunk rumours
  • Add context and background
  • Spot typos and logical fallacies
  • Highlight reporting blind spots
  • Ignore trolls
  • Treat all with respect and curiosity
  • Connect with each other

Do not:

  • Use sexist, classist, racist or homophobic language
  • Libel or defame
  • Bully or troll
  • Troll patrol. Instead, flag suspect activity.
comments powered by Disqus