The chair of the Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) posted a blog entry on Wednesday in which he announced he is stepping down from his position but will stay on as a school trustee.
In the post, Michael Janz says at a caucus meeting on Jan. 17 he told colleagues he would be stepping down, “allowing for the election of a new board chair.”
Janz cited becoming a father as the reason for his decision. In a letter to the board’s vice-chair which he linked to on his post, he said his last official day as chair would be March 6.
“Sally and I are most excited to share that our first child is due March 6, and as such I would ask that you (Michelle Draper) prepare to take over as board chair and preside over the March 7, 2017 board meeting.”
Janz took over as board chair in January 2015 while he said the board was “facing the threat of drastic cuts and layoffs.”
On Thursday, Janz said at the time, the former Progressive Conservative government had “tabled a budget that had put forward severe cuts for education and it was going to be a very controversial budget and especially hard on districts like Edmonton Public Schools which were growing in the number of children.
“Their budget proposed that we would not be funded for enrolment growth so thankfully there was a change in the next budget that came forward and a new government that came forward and we were able to proceed with more money for more students and so we’re opening news schools and things are looking very positive for education. ”
In his letter, Janz suggests he’s proud of how during his tenure, the board took “courageous stands on important issues” including turning “a new page with the Edmonton City Council on our capital planning realities,” helping Syrian students and their families adjust to life in Edmonton, advocating for sexual and gender minority students and “challenging the entitlement of the ASBA (Alberta School Boards Association).”
READ MORE: Emails question Alberta School Boards Association’s spending: CTF
Watch below: On Nov. 9, 2015, Vinesh Pratap filed this report about the Alberta School Boards Association’s expenses.
“Serving as board chair has been a tremendous honour and I am enormously privileged to hold such an office and work with such fantastic leaders and educators across our district,” Janz said in his letter.
Earlier this month, Janz said he believes Catholic faith programs should be offered in public schools and planned to seek approval from the province to do that.
READ MORE: Edmonton Public School Board chair seeks provincial approval to offer Catholic programs
Watch below: On Feb. 7, 2017, Tom Vernon filed this report about the chair of Edmonton Public Schools asking if the Edmonton Catholic School District should have a monopoly on offering Catholic programming to students.
However, he said he was not calling for the abolition or defunding of Catholic school boards in the province, but rather that he saw this as a way to potentially expand the faith programs offered by Edmonton Public Schools.