Saturday September 16, 2023 | LANGFORD, BC [Updated September 17, 2023]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends | SD62 NEWS SECTION
Sooke School District (SD62) announced this week that one of their associate superintendents is moving up to the position of deputy superintendent.
Monica Braniff has been appointed as Deputy Superintendent effective January 1, 2024 — when current Deputy Superintendent Paul Block moves up to the position of Superintendent.
Scott Stinson will be retiring from the position of Superintendent at year-end 2023 after a five-year stint.
Braniff fairly new to SD62:
Braniff has been with SD62 for only a short period of time (since August 2022), and is currently also responsible for the Belmont family of schools (i.e. schools in the Langford area that feed into the currently one high school in Langford, i.e. Belmont Secondary; a second high school on McCallum Road is on the drawing board for Langford).
Prior to joining SD62, Braniff was a Director of Instruction, District Principal and Middle School Principal in neighbouring Saanich School District (SD63).
Block has been around the block with SD62:
Paul Block has been with SD62 for a much longer time period and knows the school district well; he has been a key leader through the rapid population growth of the district — his student count estimates each spring for the following fall season have been key to capital planning and school organization.
Block is currently also responsible for the Royal Bay family of schools (i.e. schools in the Colwood area that feed into the high school in Colwood, i.e. Royal Bay Secondary).
Three associate superintendents:
Dave Strange is the other SD62 Associate Superintendent, responsible for the Milne’s Landing family of schools (i.e. schools in Sooke that feed into the high school called Edward Milne Community School). He has been at the senior executive level with SD62 for well over a decade.
Short timeline to apply for new A/S position:
The position of Associate Superintendent (A/S) that has now opened up was posted on September 13 closes within a tight application timeline, on September 25, 2023. The job would start January 1, 2024.
New trustee also incoming:
There was to be an active by-election underway to fill one trustee vacancy in the Belmont Zone of SD62 (for voters in Langford, Colwood, Metchosin and Sooke) with election day coming up October 14, 2023, but only one candidate submitted nomination papers and will therefore be ‘elected’ and sworn in at the SD62 board meeting this month.
===== RELATED:
- Only one candidate nomination, so no SD62 by-election (September 17, 2023)
- Oct 14 by-election to fill SD62 trustee vacancy (September 6, 2023)
- All school trustees may speak to the media (September 4, 2023)
- New SD62 board chair & vice chair (August 29, 2023)
- SD62 ushering in Paul Block as their next superintendent starting 2024 (July 3, 2023)
- SD62 Superintendent Scott Stinson retiring at 2023 year-end (May 1, 2023)
===== ABOUT THE WRITER:
Mary P Brooke is the founder, editor and publisher of a series of news publications based on the west shore of south Vancouver Island: MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010), Sooke Voice News (2011-2013), West Shore Voice News (2014-2020), and Island Social Trends (since 2020). The print publications from 2008 to 2020 are permanently archived at the Sooke Region Museum. Mary’s writing is about issues of today’s world through a socioeconomic lens and with a geographical root in the west shore of south Vancouver Island.
Mary P Brooke gives public talks on the current challenges of journalism in a world dominated by social-media. She also gives talks on urban food resilience. | Contact Mary P Brooke to arrange a presentation
Mary Brooke is the proud mother of four (now grown) children who attended schools in SD61 and SD62. She served on elementary school PACS in both Fairfield/Oak Bay and Sooke in the years 1992-1995 and then 2005 to 2007; a resident of Sooke 2007-2017 and now Langford since 2017, Mary P Brooke ran for SD62 school trustee (Belmont Zone) in the October 2022 election cycle.
Mary P Brooke covered the COVID pandemic daily news from the end of 2019 through 2021, and into 2022 — including the impacts in public education. She now reports with the BC Legislative Press Gallery.
Ms Brooke was nominated in 2023 for a Jack Webster Foundation award that recognizes a woman journalist who contributes to her community through journalism.