Another opponent of the Langley Board of Education’s decision to convert H.D. Stafford Secondary to a middle school is running for a City trustee seat in the Nov. 15 civic election.

Rob McFarlane was so incensed that his 16-year-old daughter and his son, 15, cannot complete their high school education at Stafford, he has pulled them out of the Langley public education system. Starting in September, his children will attend Rick Hansen Secondary in Abbotsford.

“I am so concerned with what is going on with the Langley School District that I don’t trust the district with my children,” he said.

“We have got to know so many students and families in this community that I am very concerned for their future here,” he added.

He said his candidacy “is not about the reconfiguration of H.D. Stafford Secondary. That decision was made some time ago and cannot be changed now.”

The reconfiguration of Stafford involves converting Langley Secondary to a Grade 9-12 format, and the elementary schools in the Stafford and LSS catchments to Kindergarten to Grade 5. The reconfiguration, which the board ruled was necessary as a result of falling enrolment, involved the closure of two schools. Murrayville Elementary, which is in Stafford’s catchment, closed last month, and Bradshaw Elementary, a Brookswood Secondary catchment school, closed in June, 2007.

“The experience has shown me Langley’s desperate need for a board of education that will work as a team and plan for the future — for the long-term success of our students. We need to create an environment where all of our students can succeed on their chosen path,” McFarlane said.

“There must be consensus on where we are, a clear vision of where we are going, and a logical plan for how we will get there. Short-term, knee jerk decisions on isolated issues are not an effective way to improve student success or to build a community.”

McFarlane has worked in the commercial/industrial risk management and insurance field for the past 23 years.