Trustee Report - January 2013

School Calendar – a draft calendar for the 2013-2014 school has been created and is being distributed to school councils and school staff for feedback - since professional development speakers have been booked for two days at the end of August, school will not start until after the Labour Day long weekend. There is also a proposal to move spring break later into April.

Infrastructure Maintenance Renewal (IMR) – the Board passed the proposed IMR (school repairs) list. Trustees discussed the $80,000 roof repair at Heinsburg School and asked for further investigation on more temporary measures since enrolment is at a historical low of 97 students for a K-12 school.

Two Hills Mennonite sod turning - tenders closed January 17 - want to choose a date that is closer to the actual turning of the sod - tentatively set for March 22.

Policy Review 11 & 12 – trustees discussed policies regarding board delegation of authority and the role of the superintendent.

Questions raised from St. Paul Elementary School Council:

- School-Based Budgets (SBB) – why were they formed and what is their purpose? – site-based management became popular in the mid-‘90s when school boards regionalized – some boards decentralized every budgetary decision, but SPERD has made a balance by decentralizing everything except staffing and school maintenance decisions -  belief that those who are closest to the action should be making those decisions - each school has different needs, but there are also bulk purchase agreements when required (ie. paper purchases).

- corporate sponsorship – is there a division policy regarding placing corporate names on donated items? – no division policy – would recommend that schools considering advertising corporate sponsorship outside of traditional areas (ie. programs, scoreclocks, etc.) should check with their school council and Central Office

- budget 2011-12 – started the year with a large deficit projected; how did we end up with a surplus? – the budgeting process begins with a lot of unknowns – we revise them as we gather more information  - a $500,000+ deficit (1% of overall budget) was projected and ended up with a $200,000+ surplus – a variation of up to 5% is to be expected – factors such as increased enrolment, fundraising revenue, SBB carryovers and adjustments to federal student tuition contributed to the change – dealing with a large budget ~ $54 million - if have deficit one year, will be making it up with cuts the following year, so we are fortunate to end up in the black.

Superintendent Report:

- principal’s meeting cancelled for month of January

- Grade 12 exams currently taking place

- the Board will be extending an invitation to meet with the new Bishop

- Alberta Ed will be meeting with admin to go over the division’s annual report – on Jan. 24, Alberta Ed staff will be buying Racette School staff lunch and meeting with superintendent re: Racette debriefing

- The Board is planning another school tour for the last Wednesday of February

Racette update - under 20 students remain at the Regional High School - first day back at Racette 2 ran fairly smooth overall - staff and students generally happy to be back - still going through a healing process - Education Minister Jeff Johnson contacted our board chair with good news regarding additional $115,000 for staffing our two Racette sites. The Board is very appreciative of the support received by our provincial government.

Capital projects update – Two Hills Mennonite school tender closes Jan. 17 - Racette and FG Miller on schedule (FG a bit delayed with steel orders)

Learning Networks - professional development consortia for northeastern Alberta – covers Lac La Biche, Bonnyville, St. Paul, Vermilion, Lloydminster, Wainwright – 11 members on the board of directors - 8 school divisions plus Metis and First Nation schools - budget is $1.5 m per year – provides services for 4,000 staff – in the process of searching for a new executive director.

Financial report - received management letter from auditor – Wilde and Company Chartered Accountants.

Labour negotiations – local bargaining has commenced with the local Alberta Teachers’ Association – first meeting set for later this month – the Board’s guiding principles for negotiations are currently on the division website – bargaining is still ongoing with CEP support staff and bus drivers in the County of Two Hills area.

Trustee Report - December 2012

• Bishop Installation: the Board of Trustees welcomes Bishop Paul Terrio to the Diocese of St. Paul.  The ordination and installation of Bishop Terrio took place on December 12 in St. Paul.
• Policy Review: the Board of Trustees reviewed two policies as per schedule.  Policies 18 and 19 (Community Engagement and School Councils) were reviewed by the Board and have been referred to the Policy Committee.
• Tripartite: tripartite talks for a new provincial teacher collective agreement collapsed between the ATA, ASBA, and the Provincial government.  Local bargaining will commence in the new year.
• Facebook: administration received positive feedback surrounding the piloting of Facebook.  All schools except for Two Hills Mennonite, the Hutterite schools and Racette School are currently on Facebook.
• HPV vaccination: the Board of Trustees made a motion to allow the offering of HPV vaccine in the division’s Catholic schools (Mallaig, Racette, and SPECS) after new data became available. HPV vaccine is only available with parent/guardian consent.
• Hutterite Colony: a new school, that may be required by the recently established colony in the Mallaig area, will be constructed in the Northern Lights school division.
• Year End Audit & Budget update: 2011-12 ended with a very modest $208,928 surplus on nearly $54 million in expenses.  The original 2012-2013 budget forecast saw a deficit of $419,771, but has since been improved to a deficit of $127,963.
• Additional SBB allocation: the Board approved one-time additional funds to school-based budgets. The Board is asking that schools involve their school councils in the discussions surrounding the allocation of these additional resources. 
• Racette Incident update: after thoroughly consulting with the Racette community and advice from trauma and mental health experts, Racette 2 reopened for staff and students who wished to return on January 7, 2013.  A second Racette campus will remain at the Regional High School for those that prefer to remain until the move back to the modernized school.  Both sites will be staffed.  The Board of Trustees has requested additional support from the Minister of Education.
• Goodfish update: a meeting was held with the transportation directors from Aspen View, SPERD, and Goodfish to discuss transportation issues.  The meeting went well and the data collected will be shared back with the larger committee group in the New Year.
• Capital Projects update:

1. Two Hills Mennonite: due to a discrepancy in tender documents the THMS has been retendered and the new close date is January 17, 2013.
2. Racette: projected date of completion still for Spring 2013.
3. Elk Point: progression as scheduled.

• ASBA & ACSTA conference: the Board of Trustees attended the annual Fall General meeting for ASBA and ACSTA from November 16-20.  Several resolutions were passed by Alberta trustees.