There has been a change in leadership at the North Vancouver School District.
Barry Forward, who was elected board chairman in January, announced Tuesday night that he was stepping down from the position and Cyndi Gerlach has been selected by trustees to assume the chair.
“I resigned for personal reasons. It’s nothing more than that,” Forward said in an interview on Wednesday.
Forward had won the chair by secret ballot vote and later said he’d hoped to move the board in a different direction, specifically to halt the potential sales of Lucas Centre and Cloverley.
But, he said, he doesn’t expect any drastic changes to come from his stepping down.
“A school board is still seven trustees and we’re all still there,” he said. “I’m wanting to work with the new chair.”
Gerlach, who was acclaimed by the trustees, was nominated once already at the school board’s inaugural meeting.
“I’m pleased to step into the role. It’s something that I had wanted to do. I intend to continue to provide leadership and continuity for our board governance and engage our community, staff, parents and students,” she said.
Gerlach said she doesn’t see it as her role to direct the board in any new directions, but rather to facilitate where the group of seven collectively want to go.
“I strongly believe that, as a board of trustees, we bring seven different perspectives.
I think my role is to support good governance, to ensure that the meetings are run well, that trustees are well-informed prior to decision making,” she said.
“I don’t have an agenda.”
Gerlach added that she will be committed to the openness, transparency and listening demonstrated by previous board chairs.
As for land sales, Gerlach said there are currently no discussions on the table.
