By GREG NIKKEL, of the Weyburn Review
The director of education for the Weyburn School Division No. 97 and Comprehensive School, Ed Kolybaba, will retire at the end of June, leaving behind an education career that has spanned 30 years, 13 of them in Weyburn.
He announced his retirement to the public school board on Monday night, saying the decision was made with mixed emotions, but with the feeling that things are currently going well in the school division.
"I feel I'm going out on a high, which is nice. There are lots of good things in the system as I'm leaving. While there's room for growth always, it's nice knowing there's a board in place that sees a need for these kinds of initiatives," said Kolybaba after the meeting.
The board will begin its search for a replacement immediately, as ads are going out provincially over the next two weekends, with a closing date of Monday, March 8.
In accepting his letter of resignation, trustee Dana Dean said on behalf of the board it was with "great regret, but with good wishes for you and your wife. You really will be missed."
Asked what some of the highlights of his 13 years in Weyburn were, Kolybaba said there are a number of programs and administrative features in place that he takes particular pride in.
Among the programming highlights over the years, he pointed to an increased support for special needs students as the leading one, along with implementation of modified and alternate education at all three levels of the Comprehensive School, implementing a new provincial core curricula, development of a personal-safety program for elementary students and the development of the new social skills program, which has just been put in place this year with worker Karyn Fleck.
He sees the implementation of a system-wide violence prevention program as complementing many of the school division's policies and program, with Second Step at Souris and new this year to Haig, and the Lions Quest program at Assiniboia Park School.
A growing program of extra-curricular programs, in more areas than just athletics, is another part of his legacy, said Kolybaba, along with provision for vast improvements in computer technology throughout the school division, and integration of computer instruction at all levels.
In personnel matters, Kolybaba paid tribute to his co-workers as a major highlight of his years in Weyburn.
"I found working with the highly-dedicated administrative and paraprofessional staff we have was a special treat for me, and with that was the commitment and dedication of the administrative teachers who work on all kinds of committees in the division. We have a lot of people working together as a team on different things," said Kolybaba.
Development of division policies has been a major effort in the last three or four years, he added, along with developing strategic plans for the future growth of the Comprehensive School, and encouraging greater decentralization in decision-making involving school personnel.
A final highlight has been working with various partners in the education system, such as the Southeast Regional College in the alternative high school program, with other community stakeholders in the Weyburn 2020 strategic planning group, and in setting up the social skills program.
"It's been a wonderful 13 years with this division, and a wonderful 30 years in my career. I've been able to work with people who really cared about students," said Kolybaba.
In other school board business, the trustees approved a request from the Saskatchewan Youth Parliament to hold a session at the Weyburn Junior High sometime in March, the first time the group will hold one of their meetings here.
Weyburn student Mary Fish is involved with the youth parliament, and told the board in a detailed submission that it involves youths aged 16 to 24, who learn about Canada's democratic system and debate relevant social and political issues.
The group operates on a break-even basis, at a cost of only $25 per youth, and need a school of the size of the junior high to give them access to a gymnasium, cooking area, and access to a computer and photocopier so they can print out their resolutions. The Comprehensive School had been suggested to them, but it was felt the school is too large and spread out to be easily accessible for the participants in the youth parliament, Kolybaba told the board.
The parliament is looking at one of three weekends in March to hold the event, with the weekend of March 26-28 as their first preference. The board approved the use of the junior high facility, without a fee to be charged, subject to its availability.
Kolybaba informed the board that all of the public schools, the Comp and the board offices are now wired for high-speed Internet access, at a cost of around $60 per site per month.
For some of the schools, the cost may be less than this, as savings are realized through the elimination of the number of phone lines needed.
"This will cost us more in the end, but it's 24 hours unlimited service. On the old plan, if a computer was left on overnight or over a weekend, that added up," said Kolybaba, adding this has occurred a couple of times already.
The school board has set the date and time for the annual ratepayers' meeting, to be hosted this year at Haig School. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 14 at 7 p.m.
In a final report on the first parents' conference, Kolybaba told the board there were 41 registrations and a cost of $724, minus the revenue for a final tally of $314.
"Even though it cost us a little bit of money, it was worth it. It was terrific," said trustee Dana Dean, adding that many positive comments have been received about the one-day session held at the Comp.
A letter was received from the school division's Parent Advisory Committee, which also passed along positive remarks about the conference. The letter, penned by Jill Allison, noted many people indicated they would like to have attended but couldn't, due to commitments to other activities such as minor hockey.
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