There was an odd moment of hesitation before St. Albert Protestant School Board trustees unanimously raised their hands in agreement and acceptance of Morag Pansegrau's resignation Wednesday.
"It is with mixed emotions that I bring this motion before you," said chair Joan Trettler, with a strained, emotional voice.
Pansegrau was first elected as a trustee to the St. Albert Protestant School Board in 1992 and served for a total of 17 years. She chaired the board for 11 years and was vice chair for three years.
Pansegrau's decision to resign followed the death of her husband Gary in January and her wish now is to be closer to her children and grandchildren in British Columbia.
"Serving on this board has been the most meaningful part of my life, but because Gary died in January and because we had hoped to move together to Vancouver to be closer to our grandchildren I've come to this decision," Pansegrau said.
As the trustees thanked Pansegrau for her service to the community, they also spoke about her leadership on the board, her mentorship and her expertise in the field of education.
"You will be missed on many different levels in many places across Canada. Your ability to focus on the needs of the kids stands out," said Joe Demko.
Demko also said that Pansegrau's work as an associate professor in the Department of Education at the University of Alberta and in particular with student teachers, had a profound effect on education systems not just in Alberta, but wherever they have gone to teach.
"I also appreciated your willingness to ask the tough questions, but in a way that fostered good relations. You brought knowledge and expertise, integrity, honesty and grace and commitment," Demko said.
Always a teacher
In a later interview Pansegrau explained that she would be moving to Vancouver this weekend as her house has already sold. As she gazed out her living room window towards the Sturgeon River, she also reflected on the 42 years she has lived in St. Albert and the changes she has seen in the community.
"We moved here in 1969 when the population was just 9,000. We moved to old Grandin because it reminded me of Scotland. The Sturgeon was so clear then our kids used to fish in it," she said.
Pansegrau emigrated from Scotland as a young teacher and met her husband when both taught at Ross Shepherd High School. She went on to teach at NAIT and later at the University of Alberta.
"I liked the quality of life in St. Albert. Our children could come home from school for lunch in those days. I didn't seek a term on the school board until after my youngest son graduated from high school," she said.
Modernized schools
Trettler remembered that Pansegrau was instrumental in getting the school board trustees to agree to early literacy programs.
"In the 1990s Morag introduced the $200,000 Literacy Allocation fund for early literacy and that allocation is still there," Trettler said.
Those additional funds, which come off the top of the board's budget every year, ensure that schools have resources to teach children with special reading needs.
Other programs that came to fruition during her tenure include the addition of Logos and Cogitos programs at Leo Nickerson and Elmer S. Gish schools.
"In both cases the parents came to us because they wanted alternative programs. We agreed they were worthwhile and agreed to offer them as long as there were children in the programs and they were viable," Pansegrau said.
Getting the resources required for programming was the biggest challenge she faced as a trustee.
"There were always insufficient funds. The government always says, and rightly so, that we have one of the best education systems in the world, but to maintain that school boards need sufficient funds," she said
In particular, special needs students need additional programming, but gifted children also have special needs, she said.
"These needs should be and must be addressed," Pansegrau said, adding to her wish list that schools need modernization and technology and the senior high schools need equipment for career and technology studies.
"When times are tough we must not cut back on education because if our children are well educated we all are beneficiaries," she said.
Of course she is emotional about leaving this city but she stressed that she does not regret her decision.
"I'm overwhelmed I'm going but I don't regret it. But I don't want to leave you," she told her fellow board members. "I'm going because I have to go."
