Van Loon elected for fifth consecutive term as HPCDSB board-of-trustees chair

By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

With a vote of confidence from her fellow board members and the strength of her faith behind her, Mary Helen Van Loon has agreed to serve her fifth consecutive term as chair of the Huron Perth Catholic District School Board’s (HPCDSB) board of trustees.

At the annual meeting of the board Nov. 18, Van Loon was re-acclaimed to the position of chair after no other board members put their names forward for the leadership position. Van Loon was first elected as the trustee for St. Marys, Perth South and West Perth in 2017 after the previous trustee vacated the position mid-term. In 2019, she served as vice chair of the board of trustees before stepping into the chair position the following year.

“I enjoy the job; I enjoy being chair and I think since we were in the process of hiring a new director (of education), I felt it might be a good consistency to stay with the same chair (to help her) learn the process of the job rather than having everybody new,” Van Loon said, referring to the school board’s recent announcement that superintendent of education Karen Tigani will be promoted to director of education once current director Chris Roehrig retires in February 2025.

“I was like, ‘Someone else is welcome to take (the chair position),’ and they were like, ‘No, no, it’s good. We’re happy to keep you there.’ So that’s great. I’m very grateful for their confidence in me leading the board.”

Van Loon is excited to work with Tigani – someone she and the entire board have been working with for years – through her transition into the director-of-education role. While she’s sad to see Roehrig leave the position, she’s encouraged by the opportunity to work with a new director who is already so familiar with the people, schools and policies of HPCDSB.

“(Chris) led us through some very tough times, not only in education but in the world, but Karen is one of ours’. We’re very confident in having her at the helm and I think it’s going to be a very good transition. They worked very well together, they worked together on our strategic plan and I’m excited about that coming up in the new year, so I think it’s in good hands,” Van Loon said.

The new chair of the trustee board said she is also excited to continue working with the board’s new vice chair, Tina Doherty. Doherty was first elected to the board in 2014 as trustee for the Stratford area with oversight of Jeanne Sauvé, St. Aloysius, St. Joseph’s and St. Ambrose catholic elementary schools, as well as St. Michael Catholic Secondary School. Like Van Loon, she has previous experience serving in this role on the board.

“Two years ago, she was vice chair, and Tina and I are both on the St. Andre Bessette (trust fund) committee, which is a fundraiser for students in need,” Van Loon said. “So, we’ve worked well together and it should be a good year. … There’s lots of experience on the board and thank goodness. That’s really helpful when you’re trying to make decisions and figuring out how you’ve done things in the past.”

Looking ahead to the new year, Van Loon, Doherty and their colleagues on the board of trustees share Pope Francis’ message of joy and hope overcoming all obstacles, whatever they may be.