High Prairie School Division is pleased to announce the appointment of Sandra Cairns as the new Director of Business and Darla Smith as the new Director of Finance. They will be assuming their respective roles from former Secretary Treasurer Jody Frowley. Efforts to fill the Secretary Treasurer position were unsuccessful, with the most recent candidate unable to accept the position due to extenuating circumstances. Prior to 2016, the job responsibilities of the Secretary Treasurer were shared between the Director of Finance and the Assistant Superintendent of Business. The positions were amalgamated in 2016 to address staffing and Division requirements.
Mrs. Cairns has been with High Prairie School Division for the past 15 years. Sandra started working with the Division in 2007 as a secretary with our central office. In 2010, Mrs. Cairns accepted the position of Payroll Accountant, and after several years, she was appointed to the role of Payroll Supervisor. In April of 2021, Sandra was appointed as the Manager of Human Resources. As Manager of Human Resources, Mrs. Cairns provided overall management of the Division's Human Resources Department, including answering all staff inquiries about HR matters and all administration inquiries about employee issues. She served as the first point of contact for Human Resources within the Division and developed, communicated, monitored, and evaluated the Division's human resources processes.
Mrs. Smith has been with the Division for the past 20 years. Darla was hired as a Financial Accountant and was promoted to the position of Finance Lead in September 2021. Prior to her work with the Division, she worked at Northern Lakes College as a Disbursement Control Officer for two years and a Revenue/Accounts Receivable Coordinator for an additional eight years for a combined total of over 30 years of financial experience. In her role at High Prairie School Division, Darla's experience included annual budget preparation, reporting information to Alberta Education and the HPSD Board of Trustees, finding efficiencies in financial processes, working collaboratively with schools and their administration teams, being the key lead for Division auditors, and, in her role as Finance Lead, supervising the Finance Department.
High Prairie School Division would like to wish both Mrs. Cairns and Mrs. Smith all the best in their new roles. Their years of experience and extensive skillsets will continue to support the Division to provide quality public education.
