Shari Sutter will join Pam Currie as Estevan’s representatives on the South East Cornerstone Public School Board (SECPSD) when they re-convene in November following the Oct. 26 general municipal and school board elections.
Sutter was the only candidate to submit her name as a replacement for current trustee Janet Foord who announced her retirement from the board this past summer, pending a move to central Saskatchewan.
“It was about time for me to get involved in this way,” said Sutter, who has a family of three boys with her husband Kevin. The two oldest boys Hayden and Colin have graduated from the Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) while the youngest Christopher is in Grade 9.
Sutter comes to the table with some knowledge about the public school system, having served eight years as a school counsellor where she was able to see “the strengths and some of the weaknesses from that perspective.”
Sutter has also served on the ECS school community council for four years, so again, she was able to pick up a perspective of how the division operates.
Her career as a social worker saw her spend four years in child protection service and another year dealing with young offender files and cases prior to her eight years in school counselling. She has been a communications officer within the Estevan Police Service (EPS) for the past seven years, which has given her another look at the community and its needs at another level.
“I am passionate about kids and the system in which they learn and I just felt it was a good time to lend my voice to the process and have some community needs met.”
Sutter said she is well aware of the current state of province-wide budget restraints in the public school system and the decrease in the number of education assistants, but, she added, she will need to learn more about curriculum changes and like all other trustees at this point, “I don’t know what’s coming down when it comes to transformational changes.”
This is in reference to the previous announcement from the provincial government to expect major changes to the way business is done in both health care and education in the months to come.
Sutter said it probably would have been a better exercise in democracy if she hadn’t been elected through acclamation, but rather than giving the electorate an opportunity to make a choice as to who they wanted to represent them in the school system, she’s fine with how things are turning out since she knows Currie well and sees her as a strong advocate for students. Sutter said she has been involved with Currie in previous working relationships. She said Currie consulted with her prior to Sutter making the decision to seek a seat on the SECPSD table.
“Yes, she did have an influence on my decision to make a run at it,” she said with a laugh.
Going into the process, Sutter said quality education will be her main concern along with equipping teachers with the supports they need to deliver the level of education that the community expects. She said she also knows some of the administration personnel at Cornerstone already, so that may also help.
On the community front, Sutter feels her 15 years as a volunteer at the Estevan Family Resource Centre and involvement in Estevan’s Minor Football program since its inception in 2008, along with volunteer stints in the speed swimming and water polo clubs for kids, could also serve her well as she assumes new duties as a school board member.
