Trustee Report - September 12, 2012

 Goodfish Lake busing – In an effort to enhance education for Goodfish Lake residents at its own facility, the Chief and Council is not providing busing for Kindergarten to Grade 3 students off of the reserve. The Board and Superintendent are respecting the decision and have directed concerns to the Whitefish Lake Chief and Council.

Admin Procedure 370 Student Awards – After a lot of back and forth between Admin Council and the Board regarding standardizing the Grade 6 Board award, Trustees have decided it should remain the decision of each school to determine the criteria for the recipient. The award is based solely on academic achievement. With the move to outcomes-based report cards in Grades K-6, Trustees have confidence in staff to identify an appropriate method in determining a recipient each year.

Enrolment update – As of September 11, enrolment is up three students over budget projections. However, the date for a final count is September 30 and the number of students at that date will determine any adjustments to staffing, if necessary. Administration is currently monitoring some schools with large class sizes and making plans for possible adjustments.

ATA at Board meetings – The Alberta Teachers’ Association Local members will continue to attend monthly Board of Trustee meetings. President Carmen Glossop will attend as well as a second member, if available. The division will continue to cost share a half-day substitute teacher with the ATA Local.

Policy Review – The Board will continue reviewing two policies per month with a chance for School Councils and staff to have input. Policies 8 and 9, regarding Board committees and provincial representatives were reviewed this month. NOTE: The Organizational Meeting (where it determines committee membership, as well as chair and vice chair) will be held prior to the Board meeting in October.

Trustees approved two school international travel requests for the 2012-2013 school year.  Trustees noted that Board Policy must be followed, travel advisories must be checked frequently and the Board reserves the right to cancel approved trips due to safety concerns without refund.

Bus contracts – After public postings and thorough review of applicants by the Transportation department, the Board ratified the contracts of three new bus operators in the St. Paul and Elk Point areas.

Financial Report – Trustees were told that the Operations and Maintenance budget received $176,000 more than predicted, but two unexpected costs - switching to a new accounting and payroll system, as well as a large increase to insurance premiums for school boards across the province - more than offsets the increase. Several collective agreements for the year also remain to be resolved.

Capital Report:

• Racette School – on schedule to be completed by Spring 2013
• F.G. Miller gym – construction underway – completion expected by Spring 2013.
• Two Hills Mennonite School – will go out for tender on September 25. If all goes well, construction could start in late November.

Superintendent’s Report:

• SPUR radio station graciously donated $8,000 to the school division  - administration determined the money would be spread throughout the division for fine arts and breakfast programs.
• 2013/2014 calendar – plans in place to hire two professional speakers on assessment for all staff during professional development days at the end of August – will most likely mean school will not start until after the September long weekend.
• Employee 360 evaluation – new procedures developed to assess employee performance (ie. support staff, central office staff, etc.) – will assist with goal setting and clarity of roles.
• Division initiatives – Admin Council completed setting their initiatives for the year – new this year is the hands-on involvement of central office administration in each of the initiatives.
• Facebook – administration is in the process of developing a policy for schools to develop Facebook pages. Two schools are piloting the initial phase which includes one-way communication to anyone who ‘likes’ the school’s page. Remaining schools are expected to participate once the pilot and policy phase is complete – likely in November.
• Alberta School Athletics Association gave a concussion presentation to administrators as well as information on upcoming sporting schedules.
• Staff Appreciation Day will take place on October 5, including a mix of Board and Superintendent presentations, as well as break-out sessions organized by the local ATA.
• The Superintendent has almost completed his initial visits to all schools. These visits will be followed-up by spending an entire day at each school, working in the classrooms.