By his own admission, Matt Pearce is now a lame-duck president.
Pearce, 46, announced at Tuesday night's public school board meeting he is stepping down as president of the Prince George District Teachers' Association, effective July 1.
Pearce has served two years as president and says he's anxious to return to his duties as a high school science/mathematics teacher, preferably at Duchess Park secondary, where his son will attend next school year.
"I'm eager to go back into the classroom," said Pearce. "I didn't get into teaching to get into an office, I really do enjoy teaching and working with kids both in the classroom and on the courts and fields. I do want to get back into a school community and immerse myself in that again.
"Whichever school has a place has a vacancy that fits my qualifications is where I'm going to be placed, it's not up to me. We have lots of great people in lots of good schools, so Im not too worried about where I end up."
Tina Cousins, first vice-president of the PGDTA, has been elected to replace Pearce, while second vice-president Richard Giroday, a teacher at the Centre for Learning Alternatives, will move up to first vice-president.
Pearce said Cousins is well-connected within the teaching community and will serve the district well as president. His advice to her is to take more time away from her job.
"Tina has such incredible energy and her empathy for dealing with our members who need assistance from their union is phenomenal," said Pearce. "She has a hard time not working 14-hour days and you need to find some balance because you can't do that for very long."
