Fostering positive and frank discussions is a tradition that Steven Wiebe says he intends to continue in his new role as Chair of the Border Land School Division (BLSD) board of trustees.
The veteran trustee was elected to head up the group for the first time at its September meeting after Patty Wiebe completed her two-year term in the post. Having witnessed some great leadership by his predecessors, Wiebe felt he had something to contribute to the position.
"I want to make sure that every board member can feel that they've been heard at the board table, and that we do a really good job in building consensus," he explained when asked about the goals he has for his time at the head of the table. "We've had great success in doing that so far. We have a very high-functioning board, in my opinion, so my hope would be not to break any new ground but to continue to build on that strong tradition. I appreciate when we arrive at a consensus, no matter what, people realize it is the will of the Board and not the will of one individual."
Joining Wiebe at the helm is Mark Krahn as Vice Chair and Albert Klassen as Second Vice Chair. They have also both served several terms on the Board of Trustees for BLSD.
"I think, for the three of us working together, we have a good working relationship," said Wiebe. This, despite their different backgrounds. "We've always been able to come together on decisions," he noted. "I think there's a strength that we've shown that we recognize the difficulties some of us may have in making decisions, but we respect that somebody's got to give somewhere. It's always felt like we've come to a balanced consensus."
One of those difficult conversations Wiebe expects to have in the years to come will be around student enrollment and budget constraints.
"We're still left in limbo wondering what the financial situation will be for us, what the provincial funding agreements will be like. We're a little bit worried that rural school divisions may or may not get their share," explained Wiebe. "We have a high per-pupil cost which is explained by numerous smaller outlying schools plus the hefty transportation budget that we have to support. So, as a Chair it'll be important to lead balanced discussion around that and, when we do have to make difficult decisions, making sure the public knows the reasons behind those decisions."
A big focus for this board since the 2022 election has been succession planning, and Wiebe feels the executive team in place now will help build the leadership experience needed to help serve future boards.