Chris Pettman, School District # 27 (SD27) trustee for Zone 3 – 100 Mile House has submitted his resignation effective Dec. 30.
Pettman says he is concentrating on finishing his master's degree in preparation for assuming his new role as executive director for the Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre (CFEC) early in 2017.
"I really need to free up some time and space to do that."
He is taking his degree through University of Fredericton, which he has studied for online.
"It's distance education online, which is for people isolated in rural areas, such as ourselves."
Pettman adds he has been studying for more than two years toward achieving his BA in Business Administration, with a specialty in Social Enterprise Leadership.
"That's the only program in Canada that offers that specialized education, so that's why I chose it."
CFEC offers a vital social enterprise to the South Cariboo through its Child Care Centre and the Early Childhood Development it offers, Pettman notes.
The Zone 3 trustee says he took on this role mid-term and is now leaving in the mid-term, but over his four years as the elected SD27 trustee and a board committee representative, he's had "a lot of great learning," both regionally and provincially.
"I had a chance to be involved with a lot of provincial representatives and to meet a lot of people in the Ministry of Education, as well as representing families and children in the South Cariboo."
Pettman says he has "a lot of deep connections with a lot of the great people" working with the SD27's board, administration and everyone else.
"I hope to keep working with those people, just on a different level."
Meanwhile, Pettman is phasing in as CFEC's "incumbent E.D." with orientation by outgoing executive director Lisa De Paoli.