Letter to the Editor,
Just as the Christmas season is entering full swing, there hangs a dark cloud over the Weyburn and area community. The demotion of the principal of the Weyburn Comprehensive High School has the community taking sides against the Southeast Cornerstone School Division administration. Many in the community have lost faith, trust and respect for the governing body that the community voted for and employed to represent them.
As a former administrator in Weyburn I know how important schools are to this community. In the WCS we have a tremendous school that has been led by a very capable principal for several years. Now we have a school that has been shaken to the core and is at the center of discussion in our community for all the wrong reasons.
The frustration with administration stems from a lack of transparency, questions surrounding the quality of the investigation and the perceived lack of judgement in the care and execution of the incident in question by the Deputy Director and the Director. There are a lot of questions as to whether the punishment fits the alleged incident.
A community support document circulating is insisting on accountability of who is responsible for what portion of this case that has gone wrong and who will be liable for the damages incurred. This includes damages to career and family of the principal in question, damages to the Southeast Cornerstone brand, and damages to future funding of local school and community projects.
Why has there never been full communication as to the justification for the destruction of a man’s career and family to the stakeholders of this community? This has left a purposeful void in the community to be filled with excess speculation, damaging suspicion and innuendo that has polluted our town. Much of this damage has been directly fuelled by responses of school trustee board members in their statements to local citizens.
School principals make thousands of decisions a week and make them to the best of their abilities. It’s hard to believe that a volleyball dispute and decision could have a career ending result for Wade Oberg. It appears most unfair.
Why are there so many teachers saying they live in fear of retribution by their own system if they choose to speak out of the injustices they have witnessed? Why have the community support documents garnered hundreds of signatures in support of an independent inquiry? How did the communication between the two parties become so distant?
I have lived in Weyburn for most of my life and believe in the values of this community. It is friendly, compassionate and supportive. Our community believes in fairness. To the outside eye looking in, this decision does not seem fair. We believe a third party investigation needs to be done to ensure fairness prevails.
“Education Belongs to Community” – Saskatchewan School Boards Association’s Mission Statement
Denis Tremblay
And on behalf of concerned parents students and Weyburn Comprehensive High School community
