A familiar face will be heading up the local school board as the 2025-26 chair.
Alan Campbell has been acclaimed as the Interlake School Division’s board chair for this school year. Campbell previously served as school board chair from September 2013 to September 2024, except for the 2018-19 school year. He also serves as president of the provincial executive for the Manitoba School Boards Association as well as president of the Canadian School Boards Association.
Serving alongside Campbell, Trustee Sally Cook will be the vice-chair this school year.
“It is always a great feeling to be selected by my colleagues around the board table to lead our group both in our governance practices as an effective board but also as the spokesperson for the division in collaboration with the superintendent and CEO, Margaret Ward,” Campbell said.
“In keeping with our longstanding policies, the chair takes on the responsibilities right from the inaugural meeting at the start of each year — basically from the moment they are elected.”
Campbell said the ISD school board’s priorities focus on supporting students to realize their full potential as contributing and responsible members of society.
“This comes right from our Continuous Improvement Plan, which is foundational to the work of the board and the division as a whole,” he said.
“We are extremely proud of the Continuous Improvement Plan and what it represents in terms of the incredible work being done in our local public schools in service to students, families and our communities.”
Campbell said that in 2025, the school board recognizes that public education must be accessible, equitable and responsive to ensure high-quality learning and strong outcomes for students.
“Of course, all of this is only possible if our school division has the necessary resources in place to adequately support our schools. Once again last year, the provincial government’s funding for Interlake School Division was far below adequate, which inevitably places a higher burden on our local property taxpayers,” he said.
“ISD enrolment continues to hold stable at approximately 3,000 students, and expenses continue to rise in accordance with inflationary pressures and negotiated staff salary increases consistent with the entire public sector. Yet provincial funding continues to make up less and less of our revenue relative to locally generated revenue. Along with our partners at the Manitoba School Boards Association, we continue to advocate for stronger provincial funding for Interlake School Division. We encourage our community members to do the same.”
Partnerships and local collaboration are very important to the school board’s success, he added.
“With this in mind, the board is looking forward to meaningful engagement this year with all of our parent advisory councils as well as all of our municipal partners,” he said.
“As we continue to push ahead in such turbulent times, it is important that we’re working together and communicating clearly for the good of our communities. It is going to be a great year.”
