Sue Stark has resigned from her position as a trustee of School District 60.
Stark, who represented Zone 3 in Hudson's Hope, tendered her resignation Oct. 20, and the district will hold a special board meeting Wednesday over the noon hour to accept the resignation and assign an election officer.
In an interview Tuesday with the Alaska Highway News, Stark said she was stepping down from her post for family reasons, as her husband recently took a job in Kitimat.
Stark said the move means she will be splitting her time between Kitimat and Hudson's Hope, putting her at a disadvantage in representing local interests and school business.
"I totally debated the option of trying to do this long distance and see how that worked, but, I truly didn't think that was fair, and didn't line up with me internally in terms of what's fair to the board, the staff and more importantly Hudson's Hope," said Stark.
"I felt I wasn't able to fulfill they duties that they deserve. It's a lot of work and I didn't want to take that lightly."
Stark was elected to the board by acclamation in 2011 along with three other trustees who did not face challengers.
Stark, who works as a life coach and teen mentor outside her trustee duties, said said her "passion is wrapped around kids." She's authored a book on peer pressure and self-image, and has worked as a speech assistant and tutor in the school system.
Stark said her role as trustee for the last two years has been serving as a voice for rural interests and communities far removed from the hub of the school district in Fort St. John.
"The school is the centre of the community and without schools in little rural places, the whole community can crumble," said Stark.
"That's been my voice. That's what I've strived to worked towards, not just for Hudson's Hope, but for other rural communities as well."
Stark grew up in Hudson's Hope and has spent 43 years in the Peace River country. She was part of the first graduating class at the former Hudson's Hope secondary school.
The next trustee elections are slated for November 2014.
Under the provincial school act, organizing a byelection to replace trustees is a relatively quick, three-month process.
Within 30 days, school boards are required to appoint an election officer, and that officer in turn must set a Saturday byelection date within 80 days of being appointed.
If resignations are tendered after January 1 in the year of a school election, boards can hold that vacancy open until the election, provided a minimum of three trustees still hold office.
Board chair Jaret Thompson did not return calls for comment by press time.
