Michael McMann says despite the challenges of 2020, finding positives for the year was not difficult.
The superintendent for the Fort Vermilion School Division says one major accomplishment of this year has come in the lack of COVID transmission for the current academic year.
“We started in August and hunkered down to make a plan to make this work,” says McMann.
“We are four months down the path now here at Christmas and we have had zero transmission in our schools and that is a huge tribute to our staff that has followed the rule, and that is a huge highlight!”
McMann also pegged FVSD employees banding together to help with cleanup efforts from a flood in April that caused millions of dollars in damage within various communities in Mackenzie County.
“We had the pandemic and the flood at the same time so when you see your neighbour coming to clean out basements and those sorts of things, it’s very positive,” states McMann.
In terms of the division’s finances, McMann said it had to reach into its reserves for around $200,000 and says finance personnel will have to keep a closer eye on the purse strings.
“The budget is not out yet but knowing the expenditure in dealing with the pandemic, I am sure pockets will not be full so we will have to figure out ingenious ways to look inward and see if we can find some efficiencies.”
McMann also tells the Trending 55 Newsroom that there are some items coming up next years that excite him, inducing a program to encourage students to come and teach.
“We are looking for students who want to enroll in our teaching program with the University of Calgary,” says McMann.
“The division completely funds that completely so we are trying to find students, and even parents, that want to go to school and they come back to us homegrown.”
In closing, McMann highlights a couple of capital projects in the works for 2021.
“Blue Hills High School will be built sometime in the spring and we will be looking to do repairs in Fort Vermilion due to the flood so lots of capital projects will be on the go for 2021.”
– Kenny Trenton, Trending 55 Newsroom
