Off into the sunset for Pearson commissioner

BY RAFFY BOUDJIKANIAN

raffy.boudjikanian@transcontinental.ca

It is curtain time for Lester B. Pearson School Board commissioner Ralph Tietjen, who is stepping down from his position as commissioner for Ward 15 (Beaconsfield North).

"(Saying goodbye) is always a mixed emotion, but particularly with Ralph," said board chairman Marcus Tabachnick, who has worked with him for many years.

"He's not afraid to make the right decision," said Tabachnick of his colleague, always thinking of the students first and internal politics second.

Tietjen, 51, is moving to Vancouver with his family on a job offer that he could not possibly refuse, he said. He praised his colleagues' work at a school board council meeting last week, stating he would miss them all, and earned himself a standing ovation.

"We will certainly miss you in the community too," said fellow commissioner John Killingbeck after the speech.

Tietjen originally became involved in school politics as a parents' group member after presenting his concerns about transportation at a school his children used to attend, he said. It was not long before he was asked to volunteer as a parents' group member, and was acclaimed as school commissioner for Ward 15 last fall.

Tietjen said one of his proudest moments as commissioner came after the Windermere and Allancroft elementary school mergers in 2006. They were only two of the six schools that closed down, causing much concern and anger by parents at the time. The school board had its hands full trying to convince parents that merging the two schools into Sherwood Forest Elementary was the right decision.

"The year after the merger, we were at a parents' committee meeting," Tietjen recalled, adding it was a true joy for him to see one of the parents who had fought the most ardently against the merger coming around and saying how proud she was of her new school.



A byelection date for Ward 15 will be set soon.