Special advisor appointed to HSD board

A special advisor appointed by the province will guide the Hanover School Division board as they make decisions in the coming months.

Appointed by Minister of Education Nello Altomare, retired superintendent Kelly Barkman will guide the board on decisions it makes, but will ultimately leave the final decision making to the board.

Barkman began his career as a teacher at Niverville Elementary and worked in Hanover for 21 years. He became superintendent at Red River School Division and River East Transcona School Division before retiring in 2022.

“He has 40-plus years of experience that can help the board understand what their main role is and that is to create safe inclusive spaces for all students. And this particular person that we have identified to do the work with the board has a tremendous amount of experience, is well respected, and is also from the area,” said Altomare.

Although the minister wouldn’t say specifically what prompted him to appoint a special advisor, the minister did receive a letter from the Hanover Parent Alliance for Diversity in April complaining about discriminatory practices amongst six board members. The letter asked for the resignation of trustees who it said voted in favour of a policy that gave board members a say in who gets hired as a music teacher and phys-ed teacher. The letter also claims that members of the board attended the 1 Million March 4 Children event, which opposed LGBTQ representation and gender diversity initiatives in schools.

When the minister called the board to a meeting in May, all the trustees came and they were all motivated to work cooperatively with the minister’s office, according to Altomare.

“I hope people see this as an opportunity. A positive,” said board chair Brad Unger when asked if the appointment of Barkman will erode confidence in the board. He noted it’s open to interpretation as to whether it makes the board look inept.

“It shouldn’t’ reflect on us as a board. I think it more reflects on we get an opportunity to have a good man like this giving us some support.”

The minister said Barkman will stay with the board and report to his office “as long as he needs to until the work is done.”

“This will be an ongoing process and we’ll be in regular communication not only with Kelly Barkman, but also with the board,” said Altomare.

-With files from Maggie Macintosh