New chairman has work cut out

By The Daily News

The province has tapped Gary O'Hara to herd the collection of cats known as Halifax Regional
School Board. O'Hara, board member for District 7 (Fairview-Clayton Park-Rockingham-Wentworth),
was selected as chairman after the board failed three times to choose between Gin Yee and Debra
Barlow.

The position became vacant after previous chairman Wade Marshall stepped down because of a
bankruptcy issue.

O'Hara has a tough job ahead of him. Then again, he's lucky to have a school-board job at all,
as are the other members. The board's self-inflicted wounds are catalogued elsewhere in today's
paper. Their impact rendered the board dysfunctional.

For that reason, the province gave members until the end of last month to show it can do the job
the voters who elected them expect. Otherwise, the province would have disbanded the board and
taken over the running of Halifax schools until a new board was elected.

The deadline passed, and the current board remains in place - minus member Peggy Draper, who was
voted off. Now, with a new leader and explicit marching orders, members are ready to make up the
ground they lost during the past year.

Despite the criticism leveled at the board in this space, we want its members to succeed. We
want them to rehabilitate the board's reputation, and address the problems Halifax schools face.
We want them to put personal conflicts aside and concentrate on maintaining and improving the
education system.

"You will not see any infighting at the next meeting - or at any meeting," the new chairman
says.

If you can make that stick, Mr. O'Hara, you will have the heartfelt gratitude of the region's
students, parents and educators.

Source: The Daily News, April 7, 2006
http://www.hfxnews.ca