School trustee June Harrington is leaving the board table after 26 years of service. A November by-election will be necessary, unless there is an acclamation.
Photo by Richard McGuire
June Harrington, the Osoyoos school trustee who is stepping down after 26 years, says the time is right to move on and she wants to leave while the situation is positive.
Harrington submitted a letter of resignation in July, but her decision only became public Aug. 15 when School District 53 called a special meeting for last Thursday to plan for a possible by-election to replace her.
That by-election is scheduled for Nov. 5, unless there is an acclamation. Nominations for a new trustee close Sept. 30.
Harrington was away most of last week and was unable to comment immediately after the announcement, but she spoke with the Osoyoos Times on Friday.
“I feel the time is right for me,” she said. “I’ve been a trustee for 26 years and this is a four-year term. I put in two years of this term. There’s another two years. I feel right now we’ve managed to save our school (Osoyoos Secondary School) and the Ministry (of Education) has committed to ongoing funding, and so things are pretty positive.”
Harrington acknowledges that this year has been difficult for her. At times she was the lone voice on the school board supporting keeping OSS open when other trustees wanted to close it.
“It was a pretty intense year,” she said. “It was a very stressful time and I care (about education). So it’s bound to affect you.”
Harrington said she will continue to serve as a trustee until her replacement is chosen.
“I would never just walk out and leave,” she said. “I will represent my community until somebody else is there to do it.”
Harrington said she’s always been committed to providing quality education for students and she believes students should be educated in their own community.
“I’m just so happy that we won the battle, more or less, in that our students will be able to go to school and get their education in their own town,” said Harrington.
When her own two daughters went through the school system, Harrington said she appreciated knowing about their friends. They were also able to participate in extracurricular activities such as music and figure skating because they went to school in their own community.
“If kids have to spend so much of their time on the bus, they don’t have time for those things, so it’s really important for them to have a well-rounded life as students,” she said. “I think to have school in your own town is a large part of that.”
Harrington was first elected to school board in 1990, when her daughters, now adults, were in the school system.
She was chair of the school board for 15 years from the mid-1990s. Since her first election, she has served continuously, sometimes being chosen by acclamation, as in 2014, but usually being elected.
During her time as a trustee, the board has faced a number of challenges, including a bus abduction, which thankfully ended well, and the destruction by fire of Southern Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver.
Twice while she was on the board, OSS was threatened with closure, once in 2010 and again this year.
“It’s not easy for me to leave,” said Harrington. “But there is a time. I have loved it and I think it’s so important. I know there will be somebody to carry the torch and carry on and I will always advocate for quality education for kids. Always.”
By Richard McGuire
