WESTLOCK – Newly-minted Pembina Hills School Division East Ward 2 trustee Sherry Allen says that for the next four years her top priority will be keeping schools open.
Allen, who was unopposed on nomination day, takes aim at long-term planning for the school division. After seeing schools close during her time as trustee from 2010-13, she hopes that proper planning will help prevent further closures.
“School numbers are dropping so we should constantly be thinking about solutions for the schools we still have for the future and what we can do ahead of time so last minute we’re not struggling to try and keep a school open,” said Allen. “I think that has to be on our radar all the time, we need to know how to maintain the status of our school so we’re not having schools with declining numbers.”
Allen says her previous experience as a trustee will be a benefit to both staff and students.
“Education is really important, it’s important in the big picture for our community and our society, and the education environment our children are working in is impactful to our wellbeing as well as a communities well-being. I think it’s really important and I feel that being a trustee is a role I can fill to contribute to education.”
While initially not planning to run, the mother of three says she saw that there were no candidates for the ward and knew that she had to put her name forward.
“I enjoyed the work. It’s important work. When I saw that the current trustee wasn’t going to run again, I thought about putting my name back in, but when I saw there was nobody else running, I decided that wasn’t a good thing and there needed to be somebody, so I put my name in,” she said. “I hope people feel comfortable in approaching me with any questions, ideas, or concerns.”
