Diane Bauer is taking the lead for the Lakeland Catholic School District (LCSD) board of trustees for the upcoming school year.
Bauer was voted in as the new chair, while Margaret Borders took the position of vice-chair.
After spending two years as vice-chair, Bauer feels ready to take the next step.
“I took my time to get to know the trustees, and board business is different than the business of senior staff. I just felt I was ready to take on a new responsibility,” she said.
Although Bauer is relatively new to the board, she has an extensive background with LCSD. She retired after a 31-year career with the district, where she held roles as a teacher, principal, and deputy superintendent.
A focus for Bauer is looking at their student results for provincial tests, and exploring ways they can improve.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve had an increase in student population, so we have to look at that seriously and make sure we have adequate space for all of our students,” continued Bauer.
Bauer was nominated for chair along with Mary Anne Penner, who had filled the role previously. Bauer expressed her appreciation for being chosen by the board.
“I would like to thank them for their support, and I look forward to working with them over the next year. I’m also looking forward to working with the senior staff.”
Due to Penner’s history with LCSD, Bauer looks to her for mentorship as she steps into the chair position.
“I think she’s a great leader, but I also believe change is good in any organization. The chair person is a chair person for a year, and I’m humbled to have the opportunity.”
When it comes to trustees stepping into new roles, Borders agreed “it’s good for a board to revolve to the different positions.”
Borders is taking on a familiar role as vice-chair. She suggested Bauer run for chair because they’ve previously worked together in the past.
“She was a teacher at the same school when I was at Dr. Bernard Brosseau School, she was my principal at Brosseau for a time, and then she was assistant superintendent,” Borders detailed, adding Bauer’s organizational skills and receptiveness to new ideas are among the reasons she’s excited the pair will be tackling the new school year as leaders of the board.
With superintendent Joe Arruda retiring at the end of the school year, the board will begin the process of interviewing applicants.
“It’s a huge year for us. We have to hire a new superintendent, keep all our new schools running, and our work plan is unbelievable. If you were to see our government advocacy, we have a new education minister to advocate with and we’ll be meeting with him shortly. We’re just really excited, and we’re also ready to put on our work boots and get to work,” she expressed.
Borders considers the position the same as her usual spot on the board, and she doesn’t see it a step up. She said she enjoys “contributing in any kind of way.”
“We all look forward to this extremely busy year, get the help our students will need, and our staff will need to help the students,” Borders expressed.
