Board of School Trustees School District No. 57 (Prince George) 1894 Ninth Avenue, Prince George, B.C.

Transcription

1 Approved Minutes Regular Public Meeting Board of School Trustees School District No. 57 (Prince George) 1894 Ninth Avenue, Prince George, B.C :00 p.m. The meeting was held in the auditorium at McBride Secondary School. Present: Bill Christie, Chairperson Lyn Hall, Vice-Chairperson Carlene Keddie, Trustee (via video-conference) Michelle Marrelli, Trustee Fred McLeod, Trustee John Rustad, Trustee Patricia Wick Thibault, Trustee Dick Chambers, Superintendent of Schools Bryan Mix, Secretary-Treasurer Wendy De Marsh, Executive Assistant (Recorder) In attendance: Norm Monroe, Assistant Superintendent Kerry Firth, Assistant Superintendent (via video-conference) Allan Reed, Manager of Finance (via video-conference), for items and Stan Mitchell, KPMG (via video-conference), for items and Ron Epp, KPMG (via video-conference), for items and CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved with the following additions: Item 11.2 Response regarding letter from the Prince George District Teachers Association Item 11.5 Update on replacement of Valemount Secondary School 3. OPENING REMARKS Mr. Christie thanked those in attendance for coming to the meeting and noted that the meeting would be the district s first use of video-conferencing technology for a Board meeting. School District No. 57 (Prince George) Page 1 of 7

2 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS 4.1 The minutes of the public consultation meeting held June 17, 2003 in McLeod Lake were adopted as circulated. 4.2 The minutes of the regular public meeting held June 24, 2003 were adopted as circulated. 4.3 The minute of the special public meeting held July 4, 2003 were adopted as circulated. 4.4 The minutes of the special public meeting held August 19, 2003 were adopted as circulated. 4.5 The Chairperson noted that a report on the items discussed and decisions made at the in camera meeting of June 24, 2003 were included in the agenda booklet. 5. BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES 5.1 Letter Dated July 24, 2003 from Judy Wakabayashi and Irene Rackel re: Blackburn Jr. Secondary School That the Board erect a sign on the Blackburn Jr. Secondary School property designating it as a site for a future secondary school, and include on the sign information about the numbers of secondary students living in the catchment area. 5.2 Ministry of Education February Student Count That a letter be written to the Minister of Education thanking her for the reassurance that the February student count will not have a financial impact on school districts and that a letter be written to MLAs Shirley Bond and Pat Bell thanking them for their support on this issue. 6. MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE 6.1 Committee Report Mr. McLeod reported on the topics on the agenda of the last meeting, which were, in addition to the items coming forward to the Board, a property update and a wage increase for administrators and exempt staff. School District No. 57 (Prince George) Page 2 of 7

3 6.2 KPMG Presentation /03 Financial Statements Mr. Mitchell presented the district s financial statements for 2002/03 and answered questions from trustees. That the financial statements for the year ending June 30, 2003 be received Auditors Management Letter Mr. Epp reviewed the auditors management letter. That the auditors 2003 management letter be received Property Disposition Bylaw No Seymour Elementary School That, I accordance with Section 68 (4) of the School Act, the Board agree to give all three readings of Property Disposition Bylaw No tonight. That Property Disposition Bylaw No be given first and second reading. That Property Disposition Bylaw No be given third and final reading Trustee Remuneration That the remuneration provided to trustees remain unchanged for the current year. School District No. 57 (Prince George) Page 3 of 7

4 7. EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND PLANNING COMMITTEE 7.1 Committee Report Ms. Wick Thibault reported that at the last meeting, the committee had received presentations on the Roots of Empathy program, the Big Brothers and Big Sisters In-school Mentoring Program and funding for the regional hospital program, reviewed its annual plan and to do list and received updates on a research project request, preschool vision screening and discussions taking place regarding the possibility of offering college-level nursing courses in district secondary schools. 8. EDUCATION SERVICES COMMITTEE 8.1 Committee Report Mr. Hall reported on the topics discussed at the last meeting, which included a planned review of the district s courtesy busing practices, a request for bus service across catchment area boundaries, the PGSS smoking area, vandalism and surveillance cameras /05 Five-Year Capital Plan Summary That the 2004/05 Capital Plan Summary, totalling $11,624,181, be approved. 8.3 Vandalism Reports May-August 2003 Mr. Hall presented the report, noting the total cost to the district for the period was almost $57, POLICY AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE 9.1 Committee Report Ms. Marrelli reported on the items on the last meeting s agenda, which had included Policy 5119 School Catchment Areas and Student Transfers, a report on policies referred to staff for review and a review of the board meeting handbook. Ms. Marrelli reported that the committee had received a report from the Director of Human Resources indicating that the requirement for criminal record checks to be updated every three years, which had been approved by the Board at its June meeting, would create a significant increase in staff workload and might also result in a significant increase in the district s costs for the checks. As a result, the committee had requested that a School District No. 57 (Prince George) Page 4 of 7

5 random re-check of 15% of the record checks on file in the district be done and a report provided on the results and cost. 9.2 Minor Revisions to Policy 1120 Access to the Board That the proposed minor revisions to Policy 1120 Access to the Board be approved. The revisions moved the informal public input period, currently held immediately prior to each public board meeting, to the beginning of the meeting, to allow for inclusion in the meeting s minutes, and removed the requirement that comments be limited to topics that are on the meeting s agenda. 9.3 Revisions to Policy 1323 Donations and Sponsorship That the proposed revisions to Policy 1323 parent and Community Donations be approved, as corrected by changing, in Administrative Procedure 1, the value $1,000 to the value $2, DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION REPORTS 10.1 School Year Start-up Mr. Chambers reported that enrolment would not be officially counted until September 30, but that preliminary reports indicated that the district s enrolment would be slightly higher than had been projected. Class sizes were approximately the same as last year, except for intermediate, which were slightly larger. He also noted that most of the staff that had been laid off in the spring had been placed in positions. 11. TRUSTEE REPORTS 11.1 BC School Trustees Association Mr. McLeod reported that the Board had submitted the following resolution to the BCSTA Provincial Council: That BCSTA urge the Minister of Education to introduce revisions to the Teaching Profession Amendment Act, 2003, to allow the public and obligate a teacher to make direct complaints to the BC College of Teachers only after they have exhausted their school district s complaint process. School District No. 57 (Prince George) Page 5 of 7

6 Hosting the BCSTA Annual General Meeting That the Board request that the BCSTA s annual general meeting in 2006 be held in Prince George District Parent Advisory Council Mr. Rustad reported on the topics on the agenda of the last meeting, which included the election of the executive and an orientation for parent advisory councils District Safe Schools Committee Report Ms. Marrelli reported on the issues discussed by the committee in 2002/03 and reviewed some of the programs in place in district schools. She noted that for the current year, the committee would be aligning itself more closely with the district s plan for student success. She also noted that in the past, it had been assumed that programs addressing student safety were most needed in the district s inner city schools, but the committee s belief was that all students could benefit from anti-bullying and anti-drug use initiatives. She commented on the value of school district staff, partner groups and others, such as RCMP representatives, discussing these issues. That the meeting continue up to an additional two and a half hours, as per the provisions of Bylaw No Choice Committee Report Ms. Marrelli reported that the Choice Committee was reviewing the district s policies and practices related to student choice and would be bringing recommendations to the Board later in the fall Fine Arts School That the board postpone indefinitely the implementation of a fine arts school in Prince George. Trustees noted that schools in the district were free to develop a curricular focus that exceeds district and provincial expectations without being designated as choice schools under the district s Policy Increasing Choice. School District No. 57 (Prince George) Page 6 of 7

7 Creation of Trade School Steering Committee That the Board create a trade school steering committee designed to bring forward recommendations to the Board regarding options for enhancing trade and technical educational opportunities within School District No. 57. Mr. Rustad agreed to chair the steering committee and to bring a recommendation to the Board in October regarding the membership of the committee Valemount Secondary School Replacement Project Ms. Wick Thibault reported that a public meeting would be held in Valemount on October 8 to discuss the new school. 12. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business. 13. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business. 14. CORRESPONDENCE Mr. Christie drew the Board s attention to the items included in the agenda for information, which were: Letter dated July 8, 2003 from the Minister of Education to the Duchess Park Parent Advisory Council re: Education Funding Letter dated September 4, 2003 from the Prince George District Teachers Association re: College of Teachers Letter dated September 10, 2003 from the Vancouver Foundation and the B.C. Arts Council re: Artists in Education Funding 15. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 10:03 p.m. School District No. 57 (Prince George) Page 7 of 7