Please find below the Meeting Minutes from the Special School Board Trustee Meeting on the morning of Tuesday, May 20, 2025 with Trustee Tennile Lachmuth. Tennile met with PAC representatives and parents on the topic of administrator reassignment of the current AES Principal as well as ongoing regional equality concerns.
Meeting Info
Meeting Type: Special Meeting
Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM
Location: Armstrong Elementary School – Breakfast Room
Facilitator: Nadine Zakoski (PAC Vice-President)
Attendence: Chloe Hale (PAC President), Nadine Zakoski (PAC Vice-President), Tennile Lachmuth (SD83 School Board Trustee for Armstrong area), Roxanne Landry, Pam Rennie, Erin Harvey, Michelle, Lindsay Gavelin, Rachel Klassen, MJ Duford, Tammie Turner, Nicole Shore
Call to Order
Meeting opened at 9:03 AM with a welcome and land acknowledgment.
PAC members and Trustee Tennile introduced themselves. Trustee Lachmuth shared her background, noting she has three children and was on the AES PAC Executive in 2016 during the attempted closure of AES and Silver Creek.
Open Letter Presentation
At 9:10 AM, PAC Vice-President Nadine Zakoski read the AES PAC open letter aloud.
Trustee Lachmuth responded that the letter was exceptionally well-written and acknowledged the PAC’s concerns. She committed to sharing the letter with the SD83 School Board and Senior Leadership Team.
Trustee Response
- Tennile expressed that the letter was reflective of broader educational challenges across BC
- Trustee Lachmuth confirmed that staffing decisions are made by the Superintendent and District Leadership Team. The Board of Education is not part of individual school staffing decisions.
- Trustees are not briefed on principal reassignments in advance and Tennile had no knowledge of the May 13th announcement meeting at AES prior to its occurrence. Ms. Kriger informed Tennile about the meeting after it had occurred.
- Principals are supposed to receive a formal performance review in year 3 or 4 of their assignment, with PAC input. This process has not yet occurred for Principal Edgell and did not occur for previous Principal Langston.
- Discussed typical timeline and process for principal staffing decisions.
- Noted lack of a principal review survey at AES to date. Principals in their third or fourth year at a school are supposed to have their performance formally reviewed with input from the PAC. This review has not yet taken place for Principal Edgell. It also was not conducted for Principal Langston, who served at AES for five years.
Open Discussion
Concerns about leadership transition
- Principal Edgell has provided exceptional support across roles: administrative, instructional, and student services.
- Her reassignment comes amid reductions in CEA support, long-term teacher absences, and a planned cut to LRT time.
- AES no longer has a vice-principal to help ensure leadership continuity.
- Concern was expressed that Ms. Weir, if effective, might be reassigned again in 2–3 years due to district needs in Salmon Arm, further disrupting continuity.
Questions about succession planning
- PAC asked why district-level administrators usually stationed in the board office could not temporarily fill SMS leadership gaps, given the described demanding nature of the job.
- Trustee Lachmuth explained that administrators at the Board office are used across the district in emergencies.
- Concern that future turnover at AES is likely given previous actions by SD83, especially if new administrator is talented, affecting school stability
- Concern for continuity of students at SMS, as the VP there is not being promoted and Ms. Edgell is close to retirement
- Tennile was unaware of lack of consultation with the administrators themselves prior to reassignment. She stated that she would ask for further information on the rationale for the reassignment of the current AES Principal.
Student wellbeing and stability
- Discussion of Wallace Foundation Report on Principals referenced in open letter (particularly in reference to turnover frequency and tenure duration effects).
- Families are deeply concerned about how ongoing staffing changes affect student trust and mental health.
- Grade 2 students at AES will have had three principals since Kindergarten.
- PAC noted that the current Principal’s visible and stabilizing presence has helped students weather recent challenges.
Perceived inequities
- PAC shared long-standing concerns that Armstrong schools receive fewer resources and less consideration compared to those in and around Salmon Arm.
- Programs like the Bridge Program and Youth Family Outreach support have been removed from AES.
- The community feels decisions like CEA and LRT reductions compound this inequity.
District processes and transparency
- PAC members expressed frustration with the lack of notice or opportunity for input on the administrator reassignment decision.
- Concerns were raised about transparency and the pattern of announcing finalized decisions rather than engaging in meaningful consultation.
- Trustee Tennile explained that each public board meeting is preceded by a 2-hour private meeting of the board and senior leadership team (referred to as the “in-camera meeting”).
- PAC noted a lack of tranparency from the school district, including that while the school board is technically allowed to hold private meetings, holding them regularly on a scheduled basis may not be entirely in the spirit of Section 69 of the BC School Act.
Financial transparency
- PAC requested detailed budget information, including per-student spending and per-school breakdowns.
- Tennile explained that some detailed data, particularly related to staffing, may not be publicly available due to privacy concerns involving students and personnel. In response, PAC clarified that they are seeking anonymized financial numbers and staffing allocations only, such as total dollar amounts and full-time equivalent (FTE) position totals by staff role, presented in a way that protects individual privacy while still allowing meaningful analysis.
- Several PAC members indicated that other school districts in Canada do publish school-level staffing FTE totals per role and/or school-level budget breakdowns (such as Toronto District School Board).
- Trustee Lachmuth recommended following up with DPAC, as Tennile said they should have access to the detailed budget breakdowns AES PAC is requesting.
- Tennile explained that the district is facing significant budget pressures, including rising employee benefit costs, increased cybersecurity needs, transportation funding challenges, and overall declining enrollment across the district.
- PAC acknowledged the reality of these district-wide challenges but emphasized that Armstrong Elementary School is operating at full enrollment for the upcoming school year. As such, PAC expressed concern that any funding reductions based on declining enrollment across the district should not be applied to AES, where student numbers remain strong.
Trustee commitments and insights
- Tennile Lachmuth will deliver the AES PAC open letter to the full SD83 School Board of Education and the SD83 Senior Leadership Team.
- Tennile also requested that AES PAC send an electronic digital copy of the open letter to the school district so that they can review it before the school board meeting occuring that evening.
- Tennile encouraged the PAC to submit the open letter to the Ministry of Education, our local MLA, and SD83 DPAC.
- Tennile emphasized being diplomatic in public communications to avoid being inadvertently critical.
- Trustee Lachmuth shared information about upcoming budget decisions and organizational chart changes.
- Trustee reiterated that while she could not reverse the decision and had no input on staffing moves around the district, she would continue advocating for Armstrong students.
Next steps
- Tennile will make her paper copy of the AES PAC open letter available to the SD83 School Board and SD83 Senior Leadership Team.
- AES PAC will email a digital electronic copy of and link to the AES PAC open letter to all members of the SD83 School Board and SD83 Senior Leadership Team, as well as SD83 DPAC.
- Tennile will present the AES PAC open letter to the SD83 School Board and SD83 Senior Leadership Team at the in-camera school board meeting at 4PM on Tuesday May 20, 2025.
- Tennile will follow up directly with AES PAC leadership.
- AES PAC will follow up with the Ministry of Education and local MLA.
Meeting Closing
Thanks extended to Trustee Lachmuth for attending and listening. Armstrong is fortunate to have her as our elected representative on the local school board to advocate for better outcomes for AES students.
Adjournment
Meeting concluded at 10:26 AM.
Prepared by: AES PAC