Arne Lindberg is seeking a fourth term on the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division board of education in the City of Prince Albert. The long-time trustee explained that he is running again because he finds the role rewarding on many levels.
“You get to see kids in their environment and school setting and you can see growth happening and interactions with our staff and it’s just enriching to see,” Lindberg said.
“I feel that we can really help develop our future through kids in school that is essentially it.”
Lindberg explained that he initially ran for the position of trustee in 2008 because he wanted to give back to schools in Prince Albert. Lindberg was the former principal at Arthur Pechey. He retired in 2007.
“I had been a teacher for a large number of years and I wanted to continue the direction I had enjoyed before on a different level that I could have some influence on a larger scale,” he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge at the board of education level. Lindberg explained that the task is going to continue.
“It is something that we are going to have to battle continually on a larger scale and we are going to have to have a unified front for this so all of the stakeholders, all of the people that were involved in education need to continue working together to make sure that first of all our kids are safe in our schools, first of all that our staff are safe in the schools so that they can provide a safe environment for our kids. Safety is the number one priority for our staff and for our kids,” Lindberg said.
Other challenges upcoming for school divisions according to Lindberg include proper funding levels and continuing to provide the best education with limited resources from the province.
“You have to be the buffer to make sure that it doesn’t impact the classroom level,” he said.
Lindberg continues to work in education in roles other than as a trustee. He works as an exam invigilator (exam supervisor who makes sure individuals don’t cheat) at Sask Polytech in Prince Albert for Adult Education.
“I don’t know if I am going to continue or not but I was working for the University of Saskatchewan nursing program, I was providing invigilating and I was also an OSCE and essentially what you are is you are a patient and you are given a script to follow and then the nursing students have five minutes to diagnose whatever illness you have got according to your script,” he explained.
He is also member of the Ranch Ehrlo board, the Community Service Center Board, the Joint City/School Board advisory committee, Provincial Public Complaints Commission, and a Notary Public and Marriage Commissioner.
Lindberg served four terms on Prince Albert City Council representing Ward 6 and finds the trustee experience to be different.
“We all have the same goal in mind regardless of what you are coming in to. The trusteeship experience at the end of the day you all want the same thing,” he said.
Lindberg looks forward to serving another term on the board of education.
“I hope that I am re-elected so that we can continue on doing what we can for our kids and that we form a board that is like-minded and different. We have varied opinions but at the end of the day we are all going to be moving forward in the same direction for the betterment of education for our kids,” he said.
“We are all there for the same reason.”
