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Town, county and PHPS team up to woo new school division employees

The Town of Barrhead is going to add its support behind a Barrhead and District Chamber of Commerce led effort to woo a number of new Pembina Public Schools [PHPS] employees in an attempt to get them to move to the community.
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Town of Barrhead mayor Dave McKenzie holds up one of the pins which will be presented to prospective Pembina Hills Public Schools employees during a June 23 event designed to help persuade them to make Barrhead and area their primary residence. The buttons were made by the Barrhead Public Library.

The Town of Barrhead is going to add its support behind a Barrhead and District Chamber of Commerce led effort to woo a number of new Pembina Public Schools [PHPS] employees in an attempt to get them to move to the community.

That is what mayor Dave McKenzie told councillors June 12 during their meeting.

“There has been a grouping between the town and the county [County of Barrhead] to take advantage of the bulk posting of jobs both at Alberta Distance Learning Centre [ADLC] and for the school division,” he said, adding there are 36 positions and about 20 for PHPS. “They are actually extending the program to teachers that are currently working here, but don’t reside here.”

What McKenzie is referring to is PHPS relocation incentive policy where they are offering $2,500 to any new or existing staff if they move their primary residence into the division’s geographic area.

“What we are doing is sending an invitation to the successful candidates to come and enjoy a VIP, red carpet open house of our community,” he said.

The open house will take place June 23 starting at the Agrena with a barbecue, which will be followed by tours of the town’s recreation facilities and a bus tour of the County of Barrhead.

The bus tour features Pembina West Co-op, expansion, Northplex, the golf courses, Thunder Lake and Neerlandia, among others. All totaled the tour will take about two hours.

As part of the barbecue McKenzie said organizers hope to hold a mini “Make the Connection” event where clubs, organizations, and businesses can showcase what other amenities the community offers.

“When they return to town they will be given the opportunity to enjoy our recreation facilities, our downtown area, things like that,” McKenzie said, adding the prospective residents will be given special pins to identify them to recreation staff and businesses. “We really want to show these people that this is a great community to live in and there are a lot of benefits for the school division in having them live here.”

In addition to the June 23 event, McKenzie said town and county staff will give prospective employees information they might need in order to make the decision to relocate to Barrhead, through the school division’s website.

PHPS relocation incentive is outlined in Administrative Procedure (AP) 40-06 which trustees reviewed May 23.

The AP first outlines the reasons for offering the incentive. Chief among them is that the growth of PHPS communities will help sustain the viability of its schools.

“Without growth, it’s very hard for our schools to maintain viability,” said secretary-treasurer Tracy Meunier, during the PHPS May 23 trustee meeting.

Pembina Hills also believes there are many benefits to having employees reside in the communities they work, including reduced travel time and costs. As well, employees who live in local communities can also give back to their communities.


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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