WESTLOCK – If you run into Wendy Scinski on the street, or in the line-up at a grocery store and ask her if she’ll be defending her seat as Pembina Hills School Division trustee for the Town of Westlock in the Oct. 18 municipal election, the answer would be “No.”
But the former Pembina Hills assistant Supt. of employee services and long-time Dapp School principal says there’s still a slim chance she might change her mind in advance of nomination day, Sept. 20.
Scinski, who claimed the Westlock seat in 2017 by defeating Doug Pearson 409-177, is the second Westlock-area trustee who’s decided not to run following Jackie Comeau’s announcement last week that she won’t seek re-election in Westlock North.
“Quite honestly right now I’m not planning on seeking re-election. It’s mostly for personal reasons … it’s been a very, very difficult decision,” said Scinski Aug. 11.
“I’m not quite 100 per cent committed to definitely saying I’m not running. But with family, I’ve got grandchildren now that I didn’t have when I was first elected … I just feel like it requires a solid time commitment and at this point I’ve got enough other things on the go that I’m not sure I can dedicate the time necessary.
“I think (COVID) has probably caused everyone to re-evaluate their life and priorities. Four years is a major commitment so I’m pretty sure this is it for me.”
Although she jokingly said she been involved with education “all my life” that’s not far from the truth as she holds a Bachelor and Masters of Education from the University of Alberta.
Meanwhile her local teaching career included a stint as an associate principal at Fawcett and was punctuated by her decade-plus tenure as the principal of Dapp School (now Pembina North Community School) and the Hutterite Colony Schools. Before her retirement in 2014, Scinski spent two years as the assistant Supt. of employee services, facilities and transportation.
Simply, it’s her love of education that led her to run and is what makes the decision not to seek re-election that much harder.
“I’ve been a teacher, then I went into administration and served in three different schools as an administrator in Pembina Hills and then was at regional office as an assistant Supt. for three and a half years. So I’m passionate about education and that’s the reason I ran,” she said.
“I felt like I had more to give and still wanted to be a part of it.”
Scinski said she’s enjoyed working with the current crop of trustees and senior admin and highlighted their work advocating for the raising of school bus speed limits on the highways as one she’s proud of.
“And we’ve been very responsible about our finances and in so doing have tried to redirect as much money back to the classroom,” she continued.
“Because that’s what it’s all about, the kids. That’s why I’ve been in education as long as I have been. It’s such an investment into our future.”
But Scinski also joined with Comeau in saying the biggest letdown of the past four-year term was not being able to save the Alberta Distance Learning Centre in Barrhead.
“We did advocate as much as we could. Unfortunately it was out of our control. Certainly we did try our best,” she said.
For anyone looking to run as trustee, Scinski, says be prepared to do your homework and understand it’s not always a 9-5 gig.
“You need to be dedicated to being a trustee and that takes time. Is it a full-time job? Absolutely not. But you need to be prepared going into board meetings and for sure be well-read,” she continued.
“And you need to be passionate about kids and teachers. Our intent has always been to support all students and teachers as best we can with the funding we get. We’ve got great folks doing great work on behalf of kids.”
