Superintendent says 2024-25 terms punctuated by tight budgets, new schools, policy shifts
The 2024-2025 school year has officially come to a close, and David McTimoney, Superintendent of the Anglophone School District-West (ASD-W), notes that this year was marked by both academic challenges that tested its financial resilience and the celebration of students’ achievements.
This year’s most significant challenge from the school year was responding to pandemic-related financial constraints, which put pressure on decision-making and planning.
“We’ve had to do in the last three months related to the future and ensuring that we put together a responsible plan in response to the pandemic for us to find 6.2 million dollars. That was a significant challenge, and it came with a lot of audit,” said McTimoney.
In the future, McTimoney would like to see enhanced synergy between educational institutions and the government, adding that managing a significant budget requires long-term collaborative planning.
“We’re a school district that has a global budget that is one-third of a billion dollars…I think in the future, if an exercise like this has to happen again, I think that there’s probably better ways for government and school districts to work together to accomplish that,” said McTimoney.
Despite the financial setbacks, McTimoney says there were notable victories.
In the fall, the ASD-W opened a new elementary school on the north side of Fredericton. The Cuffman Street Elementary School project began in 2021 with the purchase of land and design work. The school accommodates 500 students from kindergarten to grade 5, and features a library with learning stairs. This dynamic cafeteria includes a shared performance stage with the main gymnasium, dedicated spaces for music and performing arts, flexible multi-function rooms, and a specialized early learning area.
McTimoney says they are in the process of opening a new elementary school next September in North Edmonston.
The new bell and schedule changes in Fredericton and Oromocto were reviewed following the identification of some challenges.
“We saw some challenges with changes in them in bell and by schedules for this year that were related to the shift in the collective agreement. I made the commitment to review them in a transparent way through consulting with the public and consulting with staff, and I feel that we fulfilled that commitment and made informed decisions for moving forward,” said McTimoney.
Some schools in the Upper River Valley area will participate in a provincial school calendar pilot, which was proposed back in March. The pilot will have fewer school days, giving teachers additional time to design lessons aligned with students’ individual learning goals, while also allowing educators valuable opportunities to collaborate with their colleagues.
“It’ll be interesting to see what kind of information we can learn from this pilot next year, and the line is we need to see how it supports student learning. So it’ll be important to see how next year rolls with that new pilot,” said McTimoney.
This year saw positive progress in teacher recruitment. McTimoney emphasizes a focus on hiring teachers from New Brunswick and recruiting student interns from the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University.
He emphasized the importance of giving UNB and STU Bachelor of Education students an early in-class experience for long-term benefits and ensuring they have a rewarding experience during their internships.
“When I think back to my student internship more than 30 years ago, it was because I had a great experience when working with quality teachers that I decided to stay in this profession. And I’m still here 30 years later,” said McTimoney.
The province, the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association and school districts are part of committees focused on improving teacher recruitment and retention, a key long-term recommendation from the Department of Education.
McTimoney says the process of hiring staff is a complex undertaking and is approached sequentially to ensure fairness and efficiency.
Tenured teachers with a B contract are given priority in placement decisions. One-year B contract teachers with recall rights receive first access to any new vacancies after tenured teachers have been placed. Lastly, new graduates and out-of-province teachers are considered.
This year, McTimoney saw improvements in communication between the school district and the Department of Education. He believes that sitting together and discussing student priorities helps advance the system.
“We all have a goal in that we want to see our students do well. We want to see them learn. We want to see them be well within our system. A lot of times, there are different ideas on what that should look like, and that’s why it’s important for school districts to be sitting together and mapping out what best serves our kids,” said McTimoney.
McTimoney is proud of the teachers and staff in the ASD-W and is grateful for the hard work they put in throughout the year.
“We see staff who work really hard for 10 months, and now is the time to take a well-deserved break,” said McTimoney.
