Darin King: Difference between revisions

Darin King Ph.D, MHA is a politician in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canadian. King has represent the electoral district of Grand Bank in the House of Assembly since the 2007 provincial election. King has served as the province's Education Minister since April 2009.^[1]

Prior to entering politics, King was director of education for the Eastern School District of Newfoundland and Labrador, the province's largest school district.^[2]

King holds a Bachelor of Education degree and a diploma in School Resources Services from Memorial University of Newfoundland, a Master of Education degree from Saint Mary's University, Halifax, and a Business Ph.D (in human resource) from Northcentral University, Arizona.

King's research interests include performance appraisal of educational leaders, organizational change in an educational setting, school district restructuring, the effective delivery of student programming, school-community partnerships and school development. He has written numerous papers and articles,^{[citation needed]} and shares his experiences and research widely. King also serves as an external Ph.D candidate supervisor for Memorial University, and is a session lecturer there.

King joined the newly created Eastern School District in 2004 as the assistant director of education (programs). Prior to this appointment he spent four years as the assistant director of education (programs) and two years as the associate assistant director (human resources) with the former Burin Peninsula School Board. He has also taught at all levels in the K-12 school system and worked for five years as a school administrator.

In addition to his professional experience, King is active in numerous sports and community organizations. He is a past chair of the Grand Bank Recreation Commission, a former board member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Parks and Recreation Association, and a past chair of the Grand Bank Development Corporation.

In May 2003 King defeated Gordon Dunphy to win the Tory nomination in the district of Grand Bank for the upcoming Newfoundland and Labrador provincial election. The Progressive Conservatives won the October 2003 election but King was defeated by incumbent Liberal cabinet Minister Judy Foote, by a margin of 43 votes.^[3]

In the 2007 provincial election, King ran again as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Grand Bank. He won election to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly after securing 80.03% of the vote over the Liberal candidate.^[4]

Following the election King became the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education. He also served on the House of Assembly Social Services Budget Estimates Committee, and on December 9, 2008 was appointed to the Public Accounts Committee.^[5]

On April 9, 2009, King was sworn in as Minister of Education, succeeding Joan Burke.^[6]

King faced some minor backlash from the hard of hearing community in the Summer of 2010 when he announced that the Newfoundland School for the Deaf would not be reopening in September. The school's enrollment had steadily declined over the years due to advancements in medicine and technology and no students were set to attend the school.^[7] Students, former students and their parents spoke out against the closing of the school and several students said that government was forcing them to attend public schools.^[8]

King has been seen as possible leadership candidate since entering politics and following the resignation of Premier Danny Williams in December 2010 he stated that he may run to succeed him.^[9]

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^[11]

• Darinking.ca
• PC Party website - Darin King
• House of Assembly website - Darin King

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