After ten years, school board trustee Trish Perrin has decided to step aside.
The longtime trustee and education advocate announced in a Facebook post that she would not be seeking re-election in this fall's civic election. After a lengthy budget meeting at School District 57 on Tuesday night, Perrin said she felt it was simply time to move on.
"It was a decision that just seemed to fit," she said.
"It's been very exciting. I have loved my time on the board."
Perrin remembered that her foray into education activism coincided with the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.
"That week of 9/11, my daughter entered kindergarten and I became involved with her in elementary," she said.
She began as an advocate with the Prince George District Parent Advisory Council in 2001, eventually becoming DPAC chair. She helped lead a project in 2006 for the district to replace playground equipment at 28 schools. Safety concerns, related to the wooden construction of the equipment, had made replacement of the playgrounds necessary. The new equipment employed a modular design, which allowed it to be moved or have additional elements added.
Perrin ran unsuccessfully for a trustee position in 2005, but was elected in 2008. She presided over a challenging time in the history of Prince George schools. The district saw a decline in enrolment and the closure of numerous schools. The budget for the district was in deficit by $1.2 million in 2015. Perrin, like other trustees, spoke out against cuts to school programs after Victoria tightened budgets for districts throughout the province. In 2016, Perrin was voted vice-chair of the district.
"She got the district through some really tough times with the closures in 2010," said current chair Tim Bennett.
"Her voice is definitely going to be missed around the board table."
When asked of her proudest achievement, Perrin pointed to the 2014 adoption of the sexual orientation and gender identity policy.
"There was a lot of input from the community, from students that got us to the point of the original one. We were ahead of the game with the province," Perrin said.
Tuesday's meeting saw an update to the policy. The amended policy highlighted the need to provide a safe learning environment for LGBTQ students, but focused more on anti-bullying efforts for transgender and gender non-conforming students.
Perrin recommended any potential school board candidates get in touch with her in advance of the coming civic election.
"I would absolutely love to speak to anybody. And I think it would be so important for them to come to a couple meetings," she said.
