Trustee Jennifer Yenssen has been acclaimed as the new Chair of the Bluewater District School Board.
She replaces Rick Galbraith who resigned at the end of last week amid concerns over transparency that are plaguing the board.
Yenssen, who represents Brockton and South Bruce says she was selected because of her experience after serving as chair five times before, most recently in 2007.
She also chaired the committee that oversaw the merger of the former Bruce and Grey boards back in 1998.
Delegations appearing before the board reflected the concerns many area residents have over transparency and communication involving senior administration.
Parent Karen Cameron highlighted says parents at Holland-Chatsworth Public School faced ineffective discussions and dismissive responses from board leadership when they voiced their concerns over a teacher who was allegedly verbally abusive towards students.
Parent Marilyn Taylor says she now sends her two children to a private school because of the lack of support from the board regarding the situation.
That matter has since been taken to the Ontario College of Teachers.
Cameron is part of Bluewater Citizens, a recently formed group aiming for greater accountability from board staff and trustees.
Cameron says they’re hoping major changes will be made and students can again go to school feeling safe.
She says children who normally enjoy school shouldn’t be crying and afraid every morning.
Lisa MacDougall of Holstein says her son faced unfair consequences at school when she attempted to get board administration to address a bullying situation he was the victim of two years ago.
Her son now attends school in another jurisdiction.
MacDougall, a former teacher in the Bluewater board says parents have gone to staff, trustees, and administrators asking why policies and legislation are not being followed, only to have their children suffer reprisals for it.
She says the system is sick and broken.
Yenssen will not discuss the issues voiced by the parents at Tuesday’s meeting, saying because individual students are involved, the situations are confidential.
MP Larry Miller has also been stating his concerns about transparency at the Bluewater board.
Yenssen is concerned Miller has been letting concerns from residents and parents gather before presenting them.
She says if Miller receives a complaint, he should pass it onto the board right away, and adds that education is not a federal responsibility, but a provincial one, making it the jurisdiction of MPP’s Bill Murdoch and Carol Mitchell instead.
Yenssen says she wants to meet with former Chair Rick Galbraith to find out what information he has and then share it with the Vice Chair and Director Mary Ann Alton to gauge the extent of the discontent.
Galbraith represented the Blue Mountains on the Bluewater District School Board.
The vacancy is being advertised and will be filled by the May 19th board meeting.