Members of the Rocky View Schools (RVS) Board of Trustees nominated Ward 6 trustee Fiona Gilbert as the board's chair for another year, following a ceremony to swear in the new members at the Genesis Place Recreation Centre in Airdrie on Oct. 28.
Gilbert and Ward 4 trustee Norma Lang, who previously served as vice-chair, were voted in again as chair and vice-chair respectively, after receiving their nominations from Ward 1 trustee Shali Baziuk and Ward 5 trustee Judi Hunter. No other contenders were nominated.
"I sort of look at it as consistency for the board and consistency for our approach as we continue to support our students and staff and families as we work through hopefully this last wave of the pandemic," Gilbert said.
The chair and vice-chair make up the executive part of the board, Gilbert explained, and work closely with each other to provide leadership to the rest of the board by planning agendas, providing resources and information to trustees, and chairing meetings.
Following the ceremony, the board began their regular organizational meeting and appointed trustees to RVS' various boards and councils, as well as the division's representatives for provincial committees.
Gilbert, who is entering her third term as the Cochrane representative for RVS, said she plans to prioritize building a strategic plan with the board after past and present members spent the tail end of the last term updating some of the school division's foundational statements.
"For the last 12 to 18 months, the previous board spent some time looking at our mission, the vision, and the purpose and the values for Rocky View Schools, and spent some time updating those," she said. "The next step on that is to develop a board strategic plan to move us forward in some of our priority areas."
Gilbert said she is appreciative of the board's support in continuing her leadership role as chair and looks forward to what they can accomplish in the next year and within the next four-year term.
