Trustee Report - March 13, 2013

Two Hills Mennonite School sod turning - April 3 at 1:30 p.m. - trustees discussed the agenda, list of invitees, protocols for the event.

Grad tokens - Board has been purchasing USB drives for the past couple of years - motion approved to continue with the USB drives as a gift for each SPERD graduate.

2013 School Board Elections - trustees considered a number of bylaws required leading up to October elections - elections will take place at the same time as municipal elections on October 21 and the term has been changed from three years to four years. For more information on becoming a trustee, visit the Alberta School Boards Association website at www.asba.ab.ca

Policy review and amendments – trustees reviewed policies 14 and 15 regarding hearings on teacher transfers and school closures – the policy committee also brought forward a number of amendments from previous policy reviews.

Superintendent's report:

Edwin Parr awards for first year teachers - nominations due April 5. Information will be brought forward to next admin council on March 20.

Mallaig School tour in February - great evidence of how a school is striving towards division goals. Next school tour tentatively planned for April.

Principals will be setting their priorities during budget discussions at the next admin council meeting.

Racette update - school construction completion date has been pushed back into April. Recommendation from school admin and superintendent that staff and students will move back to Racette home in August, 2013. Board approved recommendation.

Transportation committee – a number of challenges for administering in-town bussing  - extra admin fee of $15 for bus pass change - winter service bussing no longer applies (passes will be for the entire year) - if a child requires a seat on another bus, an extra fee will apply – information on changes will be handed to out to those who use the service. Board approved committee recommendations.

Fuel Price Contingency funding - as of April 1, the provincial funding will be eliminated - grant was used to offset the rising cost of fuel - means a loss of approximately $30,000 per month for our bus contractors.

Financial report:

March student count - second count assists with grant funding – 4085 students at Sept. 30 - March 1 count at 3984 - loss of 101 students. Affects English as Second Language grants and class size ECS (Kindergarten) grant.

March 7 provincial budget - province's fiscal year ends March 31. Some changes affect our current school year such as Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) grant and the fuel price contingency funding being eliminated April 1. Province made budget projections for each school division, but our numbers differ. (ie. Province suggested increase in enrolment, but our enrolment numbers have remained quite consistent over the past few years). – As a result of the provincial budget, our division will be down approx. $1 million in revenue vs. the province's projection of $249,000. We will need to reduce on the expense side, but it is too soon to determine exactly how it will impact the division. Other items, such as the elimination of the Community Spirit Grant and changes to Alberta Distance Learning will also have an impact on the division’s bottom line.

Capital projects:

THMS - contractor has started moving snow - April 2 pile driving - April 3 sod turning

Racette – construction completion moved back to April

FG Miller - gym likely won't be available to students until the fall

Workloads for teachers discussion at ASBA zone 2/3 meeting - total work time includes instructional time, assignable time as well as the marking, report cards, extracurricular activities, etc. - quite a bit of difference among teachers - even with assigned time - some boards have more teacher prep time than others.

Advocacy meeting with MLAs for zone 2/3 on March 21 - discussing capital needs, inclusive education, small schools, socio-economic issues, transportation and wrap-around services.

Rural Alberta education conference - three trustees attended in Canmore - attended sessions regarding Alberta student mentorship program, distance learning, entrepreneurship programs on iPads, driving simulation programs for logging industry, digitalization of student records and forms, rural school closures, communications consultants, partnering with U of Athabasca to develop android apps catered to the school division, green certificate program.

Utilization Report – trustees received their annual report on how space is being utilized in each of the division schools. The report is based on a provincial formula and a school is considered “full” at 85% capacity. Glen Avon is at 85%, but Two Hills Mennonite Schools sits at 140%. The division average is 63%.