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12 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday June 15, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Public school board hires IT manager By Tim Whitnell SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER The Halton District School Board is hiring a full-time manager to oversee its information technology needs. Education Director Wayne Joudrie said Bruce Smith of the Grand Erie District School Board will become the Halton board's chief information officer, a new supervisory position; he assumes the role Aug. 13. Smith is currently the manager of information services with the Grand Erie board's Brantford School Support Centre. Grand Erie is in southcentral Ontario and encompasses the city of Brantford and the counties of Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk. Joudrie, who was education director at Grand Erie before coming to Halton in 2005, said it's now necessary for the information technology (IT) sector at the board to have one indi- "It's a vital element of how organizations work. It's an efficiency piece." Dane Tutton, Superintendent vidual dedicated to that field of work. "It has always been a split portfolio," he said, noting two senior staff employees often shared the IT workload while trying to look after their other areas of responsibility. Superintendent Dane Tutton has been doing double duty, said Joudrie, juggling his family of schools portfolio and the IT role. "It is a vital element of how organizations work. It's an efficiency piece," he said of the work done by IT specialists. Joudrie said Smith has 20 years experience and will be responsible for all aspects of computer hardware and software in the schools and at the board's corporate level, including contact with the Ministry of Education. The education director said 13 people applied for the IT job with five external candidates and one Halton board employee short-listed for interviews. The new chief information officer position's salary range will be $130,000-$140,000.