Former Sundre teacher and principal Allan Tarnoczi has been elected chairman of the Chinook’s Edge School Division.
Board elections were held during the annual organizational meeting in Innisfail on Sept. 11.
Tarnoczi, 60, replaces long-term chair Colleen Butler, who held the chair position for the past nine years.
“I’ve been involved in education all my life and this is another opportunity that I have to make a difference for kids,” Tarnoczi said in an interview.
“It’s an important position and it’s a weighty position and I’m looking forward to trying to meet the challenges that are inherent in it. We think that we can make a big difference for our kids.”
He was elected as a Chinook’s Edge trustee in 2017 following more than 35 years as a teacher and principal in Sundre.
He has served as associate superintendent of corporate services in Chinook’s Edge, as well as being an educational policy consultant.
High quality education is key to building sustainable rural communities, he said.
“I’ve seen the impact education can have,” he said. “For rural communities to be sustainable they need good sound schools from kindergarten to Grade 12, and they need educational opportunities in the post-secondary.
“We have to make sure that our kids have the same opportunities as those kids that are in the urban areas. We need stellar schools to attract people back to rural communities.”
Asked if he has some specific things planned for the coming weeks and months, he said, “One of the things that our board has done is it has done a great job working together. Unity has been a real hallmark of the board and one of its strengths. That is something I really want to focus on continuing. It’s good for the board, the division, and I believe, for kids.”
During the Sept. 11 organizational meeting, past chair Colleen Butler was elected vice chair, and Holly Bilton was elected second vice chair. Butler announced earlier that she would not be seeking re-election as chair.
There are more than 11,000 students in the Innisfail-headquartered Chinook’s Edge School Division.
