A search for a Foothills School Division superintendent of schools has begun. Trustees selected Piet Langstraat of Systemics Consulting Inc. on Sept. 5 to assist in the hiring of a superintendent as a result of former superintendent John Bailey not returning for the 2018-19 school year. Langstraat is a former superintendent of schools for Red Deer Lake Public Schools and more recently the Greater Victoria School District in B.C., where he resigned at the end of the 2017-18 school year. “We passed a motion to hire him, but we want to talk to him to confirm some things in his proposal,” FSD chairman Larry Albrecht said. “We are extremely fortunate that he submitted a proposal.” The division will meet with Langstraat on Thursday to discuss further issues, including salary. The consultant will get some consulting as well. There will be public consultation in the qualities wanted in a superintendent. “What we want to do is talk with all of our stakeholders and allow them to view the profile for the position and see if there is anything the board needs to consider in terms of changing… what are the characteristics, the experiences, the skills of the individual who might serve as the next superintendent,” Albrecht said. It will be the trustees who have the final say in the hiring. At present, former assistant superintendent Pam Rannelli is the acting superintendent. Albrecht said having the highly qualified Rannelli in the position allows for the division to be thorough in its search for the full-time superintendent. The board named Rannelli the acting superintendent up to the end of the 2018-19 school year at the Sept. 5 meeting in High River. “That is being a little pessimistic but potentially realistic,” Albrecht said of the late date. “For example if we hire a superintendent in a province from somewhere else, they are going to have to give notice. “All of that takes time, we are just recognizing that we aren’t going to have a superintendent by Christmastime. “If we have that stellar candidate and they say the earliest time they can come is June 1, we don’t want to dismiss that individual.” Rannelli moving up the ladder to superintendent has set off a domino effect of moves in the division. Former Oilfields High School principal Caroline Roberts has moved into the assistant superintendent position. Chet Musgrove, the former principal at Longview School, is now in the head chair at Oilfields. Rhonda Bymak has left her position as vice-principal at Okotoks Junior High School and is now the principal at Longview.
