After searching since Halloween for a new superintendent, the Vancouver School Board has hired from within.
Former associate superintendent Scott Robinson will replace Steve Cardwell as superintendent, March 1.
Robinson wasn’t sure how many people applied for the position, but he knows he was one of two candidates shortlisted.
Trustees make the final decision on the hire, and District Parent Advisory Council board chairperson Melanie Antweiler says Robinson is an excellent choice.
“He’s incredibly dedicated,” she said. “He always seems to be available and he’s determined, and very, very respectful and creative.”
Cardwell, who is leaving to become professor of teaching and director of executive educational leadership at UBC, emphasized to the Courier in the fall the importance of succession training.
Robinson said he was “absolutely” groomed by Cardwell for the role of superintendent.
Robinson said he’s learned the importance of really listening to everyone involved in the school system from Cardwell.
“Other people’s views are very important to him, I believe. That gets demonstrated in every interaction he has with people,” Robinson said. “He’s relentlessly respectful even in situations where people are not necessarily being respectful back to him… That’s been very impressive to watch and learn from.”
Robinson will have a lot of listening to do over the next two months as the board wrestles with a funding shortfall estimated to be $17.9 million. The provincial budget announced school districts across the province would need to find $29-million in administrative savings in the coming year, which means the VSB will have to find a way to save another $2.9 million on top of its projected shortfall of $15 million.
“We’ve been focused on identifying budget efficiencies for a number of years,” Robinson said. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find additional areas where we can cut without impacting the classroom.”
Robinson intends to talk to members of the school community face-to-face to inform work on the district’s five-year strategic plan, which is anticipated to start in the fall.
He also wants the board to analyze the effectiveness of its internal and external communications.
Just before she was elected, Green Party of Vancouver trustee Janet Fraser said the school board needs to feel less distant to parents. She cited a lack of straightforward access to meeting information and reports on the VSB website.
Robinson said he’s heard similar concerns from parents, community members and people who work within the VSB.
Cardwell encouraged more involvement from students in their education and Robinson wants to advance student involvement more broadly across the district.
Robinson, 48, has worked as an associate superintendent for the VSB since August 2012. He’s been responsible for the educational operations and overall supervision of the district’s 110 elementary and secondary schools. He’s also supervised the VSB’s enrolment management process, educational policy reviews and revision, distributed learning programs, student safety initiatives and international education.
The longtime resident of Vancouver served as associated superintendent in Richmond and has been a principal at elementary, middle school and secondary school levels in the Coquitlam School District.
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