School District 5 has hired a new superintendent. Lynn Hauptman will soon make the move from Prince Rupert to join the Southeast Kootenay district administration. Hauptman said the move is one she is excited to make, as it will be a return to the East Kootenay for her.
She worked in SD6 in Kimberley for almost 10 years.
She said she has heard that SD5 is a tremendous district.
"I'm really looking forward to working with everybody," she said. "I'm really pleased to see the direction that the district has been taking in terms of making sure that all students are successful."
Hauptman said she looks forward to continuing on in that direction.
Her and her husband are also looking forward to being closer to family in the area.
Hauptman graduated high school and began started her career in education in Prince Rupert. She became a principal there, then made the move to Kimberley.
"We had a very young family then," she said. "They grew up there. They very much consider the East Kootenay to be their home."
In Kimberley she was the principal of McKim Middle School, the district principal of special education and part of the district management team.
From Kimberley they made the move to Penticton, where she worked in the Okanagan Skaha district.
Hauptman will be giving up her current role as superintendent of SD52 in Prince Rupert, where she has been for four years.
"I kind of have this habit of moving from one part of the province, down and back again," she said. "It's always bittersweet when these moments come along. I'm very proud of the work that we've done in Prince Rupert and the team that I work with there, so it's hard to leave."
But she said there are always new adventures, opportunities and challenges awaiting on the next step.
Hauptman said she has spoken with interim superintendent Bendina Miller. They worked together during her time in Kimberley.
Hauptman said that what she brings to the district will continue Miller's work.
"She's told me over and over again what an incredible team of people there are there," she said.
Once she begins the role, she said she will spend a lot of time at the beginning driving around the district, meeting with people in the education system and listening to what they have to say.
She is coming down for a week in June to do that very thing, as a chance to overlap with Miller. Her official start date is not until Aug. 1.