Trustee Report - March 12, 2014

Meeting Preliminaries:

• The Board welcomed Abinash Mishra, Education Manager from Alberta Education, who visited Two Hills Mennonite School in the morning and visited with the board for lunch and sat in at the beginning of the meeting.
• Board Chair Heather Starosielski also thanked Ashmont Elementary Principal Christine Ostapiw for her 35 years of service, as she is retiring at the end of the school year.
• Chair Starosielski also mentioned that schools lowered their flags half-mast on March 12 as a request from the Education Minister to recognize the sacrifice of the fallen and celebrate the mission end as well as thank all of those that served in Afghanistan.

Downtown Revitalization Request (St. Paul) - Trustee Looy reported that the Racette School Council was in support of the proposed statue of the “Four Legged Spirit” statue of a bear to be placed on the southwest corner of the school’s grounds. Chair Starosielski also spoke with committee member Amil Shapka and confirmed that a meeting will be held with SPERD to share final drawings of the project prior to commencing the project. The Town of St. Paul is assisting with costs of the project as part of a three-year commitment to public art. The board approved the request with the caveat that any set-up and future maintenance costs would be incurred by the Downtown Revitalization Committee.

ASCA conference - The Board is still looking for local school council registrations for the April 25-27 Alberta School Council Conference. The division is sponsoring two parents to attend on a first come, first served basis.

ASBA Bargaining Consultations - local trustees will be participating in labour bargaining consultations coordinated by the Alberta School Boards Association. These sessions will assist school boards in considering an alternate model for collective bargaining with teachers.

Graduation Tokens – The Board will continue with the USB drives as gifts for our grads.

Capital Plan Priorities - The Board approved its annual Capital Plan Priorities report which will be submitted to the Province. In order of priority: #1 Ashmont Schools modernization; #2 Two Hills Mennonite School (new school will be at capacity when it is complete; Board had addressed this with the Province, but no changes were made at that time); #3 New Myrnam School modernization; #4 Heinsburg School modernization. Ashmont, Myrnam and Heinsburg schools were originally constructed in the 1950s.

Infrastructure Maintenance Renewal (IMR) Plan - The Board approved its annual IMR Plan of $550,000 for this school year, which includes regular maintenance, such as painting, flooring and re-roofing.

Operations and Maintenance Reserves - in an effort to draw down some reserves in this area, administration also presented a draft list of other projects such as gym floors and parking lot expansions for the board to potentially consider and approve for this year.

Policy Review - Trustees reviewed Policy 12 - Role of the Superintendent and Policy 13 - Reviews, Appeals and Hearings Regarding Student Matters. No changes were made at this time.

Superintendent Report:

• Local principals will participate in a two-day meeting on March 17-18 to develop a proposal to the Board on using surplus funds in this year’s budget to assist in student achievement. In its attempt to use some of its reserve funding, the Board has directed the Superintendent to come up with a sustainable and results-driven plan for spending $1 million this year. 
• Excellence in Catholic Education Award - Nicole Hebert, Vice Principal of St. Paul Elementary Community School, has been selected as this year’s recipient of the award. 
• Kevin Cameron from the Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response will be training approximately 60 division staff and other partnering agencies on March 13-14. The training is in conjunction with the division’s Risk/Threat Protocol. 
• F.G. Miller Jr./Sr. High School will be hosting this year’s Math Olympics on March 26.
• Superintendent Brodziak acknowledged and thanked our valuable substitute teachers across the division for Substitute Teachers Appreciation Week, March 10-14.

Financial Report

The recently announced provincial budget means status quo for education funding. Most of the increases for education address student enrollment growth. Local schools are currently working on enrollment projections for the 2014-15 school year. The SPERD fact-sheet on the provincial website does not include federal funding which constitutes 25% of our revenue.

Capital Projects - The project manager, Alberta Infrastructure, is still reviewing site conditions and slab design for the new Two Hills Mennonite School. The original slab design is being adjusted due to unusual site conditions such as an artesian well, a buried foundation from an old building and high water levels. New plans are expected for mid-March.

AB Rural Education Symposium - Administrators, teachers and trustees attended the conference in Canmore, March 2-4. Trustees reported on the various sessions they attended. Three of our schools were represented as session presenters.

Catholic Education Symposium Feb. 21-22 - SPECS principal and two staff attended as well as Assistant Superintendent Patricia Gervais and Trustee Lafrance.