Seine River superintendent resigns

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This article was published 05/06/2024 (324 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The superintendent of Seine River School Division (SRSD) surprised the school board and teachers’ association by resigning May 24, effective immediately.

Ryan Anderson was hired in April 2022, and took over the job full-time July 1, 2022.

Board chair Wendy Bloomfield said Anderson left for personal reasons. She said the resignation was “somewhat” of a surprise.

Bloomfield was asked if there was any board involvement in the resignation.

“I’m not really at liberty to share any more,” said the board chair.

Bloomfield said Anderson was instrumental in working with the board in developing their new values and beliefs statements, and starting a thorough review of their policy and procedure manual.

“That was definitely a work in progress that got a little bit sidelined with everything that happened in the last six to eight months,” she said.

“And then with what happened, that sort of sidetracked everybody with the financial situation that occurred last fall.”

Massive deficits brought on by accounting errors under former secretary treasurer Scott Carlton – now secretary treasurer of Pembina Trails School Division in Winnipeg – led to provincially appointed accountant Vince Mariani overseeing the deficit reduction plan and helping new treasurer Amanda Senkowski who came in on July 24, 2023 and discovered most of the errors. She took a closer look after the first hint of budget problems came from government officials who found the first $500,000 error in the 2023-24 budget.

Carlton left SRSD June 15, 2023 for his new job.

“It was later discovered that the former secretary treasurer overrode a formula in government provided documents,” reads the school division’s detailed explanation in its deficit reduction plan now available on the SRSD website.

Anderson was interim secretary treasurer until Senkowski was on board.

These deficits have led to program cuts including the Kids at Play (KAP) program and free bus rides for kindergarten to Grade 4 students living 0.8-1.6 kilometres from the school, a reduction in teaching positions, and higher taxes to get out of the now $5.8-million deficit position. The three-year deficit reduction plan submitted April 10 to the province has yet to be approved.

During this difficult time, Bloomfield said she had been in constant contact with Anderson.

“Almost a day didn’t go by when we didn’t have some conversation, whether a text, an email, a phone call,” said Bloomfield.

The chair also answered that she did not hear any negative feedback on Anderson’s interactions with the public, including parents upset at the ending of KAP and the new busing fees.

The two assistant superintendents and other senior staff are picking up the slack left by Anderson’s absence. Assistant superintendent of instruction and curriculum Chris Szun was at the head of the table beside Bloomfield at Tuesday’s board meeting to fill the role. The assistant superintendent of student services is Teresa Hampton.

The next step to fill the role is to have John R. Wiens help with finding an interim superintendent while the board searches for a permanent replacement. Wiens is a University of Manitoba dean emeritus at the faculty of education, from which he retired at the end of 2015.

“He’s a former dean of education, former superintendent, former principal; he’s been in education I think for 50-some years, very well respected. And we reached out to him to give us some advice and support through the next steps that we’re going to have to take, and he has agreed,” said Bloomfield.

According to the U of M, Wiens was also president of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society and head of the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents. Bloomfield said she hopes the board will meet with him next week.

Bloomfield said the teachers’ association and principals will be looked to for advice on the next superintendent, and she hopes to reach a consensus on what everyone is looking for in the role.

“Not who do you want in the position, but what are the skills, abilities, education experience, etc. do you feel is important in the search that we do,” said Bloomfield.

President of the Seine River Teachers’ Association (SRTA) Jonathan Waite said Anderson’s sudden resignation came as a surprise to him.

“It won’t be any surprise to them when we enter the room that we’re looking for someone who’s an educational leader, someone who has a firm foundational understanding of Manitoba education, how the public education system works, and how the system needs to support every student as much as possible,” said Waite.

“In Seine River we have – and they’re certainly not unique challenges to other school divisions in the province – class composition and some of the complexities regarding student needs is certainly top of mind for us. I think 23 years in this division, if I could kind of hang my hat on anything this division has put forward in terms of belief statement, it’s inclusion for all. And inclusion for all students comes with support for all students.

“And so given where we’re going to be over the course of the short term with the financial situation, I think the new leader, the new superintendent’s going to be asked to be creative. But creativity in the sense will be a positive because it will be keeping the students at the centre of the decision making.”