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Concerned parents want answers from Southeast Cornerstone

To the Editor, Why was Mr. Wade Oberg Removed as Principal? The questions surrounding the removal of Mr. Wade Oberg as Principal of Weyburn Comprehensive School (WCS) continue to stir throughout the community.

To the Editor,

Why was Mr. Wade Oberg Removed as Principal?

The questions surrounding the removal of Mr. Wade Oberg as Principal of Weyburn Comprehensive School (WCS) continue to stir throughout the community.  This was evident by the crowd of students, parents, teachers and members of the community who gathered in support of Mr. Oberg at his show cause hearing on December 5, 2017.  Following the hearing, the decision was made by the Southeast Cornerstone Public Board of Education (SECPSD) to uphold the motion made by Lynn Little, Director of Education to remove Mr. Oberg as principal.

The continued lack of transparency by the Director Of Education, the Deputy Director and the elected representatives of the community school board have resulted in feelings of anger in the community and have caused many to question the ethics surrounding this situation from the beginning. 

Minutes from the Special Meeting of the Board of Education held on November 1, 2017 states the Board of Education received a report from the Director of Education recommending the principal duties be removed from Mr. Wade Oberg.  There were no details provided on the report or why this decision was reached.  This “report” contained what information?  Who compiled the report? Was it impartial?  Were they qualified to investigate the incident? Were there conflicts of interest?  Did the school board receive accurate information to make an informed decision? 

Up until Tuesday December 12, the parents of Weyburn Comprehensive School (WCS) students had still not been informed by SECPSD of the principal situation at WCS.  On November 28, 2017, an email from WCS was sent to parents with the December newsletter attached. The first page of the newsletter was a message from the WCS Administration Team. There was no mention of the situation regarding Mr. Oberg and his removal as Principal.  The remaining 14 pages of the newsletter highlighted the activities taking place at WCS.

On December 12, Keith Keating, Deputy Director of SECPSD sent a letter to the parents of WCS informing for the remainder 2017-2018 School year Mr. Ryan Fowler has accepted the position of principal of WCS, Mrs. Renee Cuthbert has accepted the position of vice-principal for this same time period and Mr. Randy Lueck will continue in his current role as vice-principal.

The students at WCS have directly witnessed the effect this decision has had on their teachers. The teachers are afraid, frustrated and have been intimidated by the school division. This was evident when some teachers were distraught and emotional when instructed to inform their students that a new principal of WCS had been appointed.  They were told to answer any questions that the students might have.  One teacher said, “How can we answer questions when they (The School Division) won’t tell us anything?” Students report already some teachers are stepping down as coaches for sports.  If their principal with a perfect personnel file and 25 years experience teaching and coaching can be demoted after a conflict between two coaches, why would any teacher risk their career for volunteering for extracurricular events? Who will support them? These teachers can’t speak out for fear of losing their job. Is this situation conducive to a good learning environment for our children? The lack of support the teachers have been shown by the school division will have a detrimental effect on this relationship going forward and will affect all the students who attend WCS.

The members of this community have lost confidence in Lynn Little, Director of Education, Keith Keating, Deputy Director of Education and the School Board Members as to their ability to objectively make decisions which affect all the students and staff in the Southeast Cornerstone Public School Division.

This loss of confidence not only affects the students and teachers, but also the entire community.  Why would parents want to chaperone for any extracurricular events?  Or become community coaches? Why would the community want to partner in on the new elementary school facility that will be built where the Weyburn Junior High used to be like they did in contributing $3.5 million for the Triple C Center? If the school division can take such high handed measures without consultation of teachers, community or even a cross section of students, then the trust is gone. People will not invest if there is no trust.

Because of the lack of transparency, community members were left to speculate and suspicions grew as to the reason for Mr. Oberg’s demotion.  Upon digging for clarity by community members, it has become apparent that this entire issue had only to do with a volleyball incident. If there was anything significantly inappropriate in Mr. Oberg’s actions or behavior, his entire employment contract would have been terminated. This incident should have been resolved with much more common sense. We understand the impact Mr. Oberg’s actions had on the volleyball team and these events need to be scrutinized.  However, his removal as principal of WCS over this incident appears to be an unjust, excessive and a vindictive verdict. His credentials are stellar. Does his dedication to the school for the last 25 years including the seven year construction of the WCS, the amalgamation of the WJH, and leadership of over 80 teachers and 900 students not count for anything?

More than one school board member was asked for a recorded vote.  To date this has not been made public. The Board and Division continue to refuse to comment or divulge any information in regard to the rationale of Mr. Oberg’s demotion. Did the board have a bias to accept administration’s recommendation prior to Mr. Oberg’s appeal? Was the board too entrenched to reverse the original judgment? Did Mr. Oberg receive a fair hearing? 

 The Board Members of the SECPSD include:  Audrey Trombley (Chair), Carol Flynn (Vice-Chair), Warren Betker, Melanie Sorensen, Harold Laich, Kevin Keating, Jim Henderson, Shari Sutter, and Elwood White. 

The community is not satisfied with the lack of transparency nor the results of this decision to remove Mr. Oberg as principal.  They are continuing to scrutinize and investigate other avenues of holding accountable the actions of the current administration and board.

Signed, Dave Edgerton

On behalf of Concerned Parents, Community and Ratepayers of WCS