In that case,
» good afternoon everyone.
Thank you all for joining us today.
You're first going to start by calling
our meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. April
14th, 2026, our regular public meeting
here in the lovely McKenzie. Uh I'm just
going to first read out our call to
order. The board of education is
committed to providing a safe and
respectful environment. The board
expects all participants to model
respectful communication in order to
foster positive relationships and build
understanding between all school
district partners.
Trustees as members of the corporate
board shall act prudently, ethically,
and legally in keeping with the
requirements of provincial legislation.
This includes proper use of authority
and appropriate decorum in terms of
group and individual behavior. Trustees
will ensure that their comments are
issue-based and not personal, demeaning,
derogatory or disparaging with regard to
board staff or fellow trustees,
including comments made to media or news
outlets.
Moving on to item number two, we are
going to start in a good way by
acknowledging the ancestral lands of the
Mloud Lake Indian Band where our
business and our storytelling is taking
place today. Recognizing that our work
also takes place on the unseated lands
of the completely territory and the Sid
First Nations, I would like to share
being that I'm a guest on Secondary
Territory today. I I looked for the I
looked for a new word to learn and I
found wata which means spring. Well,
we're getting there. [laughter]
Happy.
Moving on to item number three, the
approval of the agenda. the recommended
motion that the agenda be as approved as
presented. We have a mover and a
seconder. Trusty Holland, Trusty McCroy.
Thank you. Any discussion?
All those in favor? I was looking for
people online. [laughter]
Okay. And that is unanimous. Thank you
very much. And the exciting part, moving
on to item number four, we have two
wonderful presentations from some very
special guests. First uh Morphe
Elementary
here, right?
>> Yeah. [laughter]
[laughter]
>> Just we can stand right.
» Just we can stand right.
>> Yeah, you can do whatever feels. I'll
» Yeah, you can do whatever feels. I'll
let you do this. Last time I did it, it
was a mess.
>> Uh good afternoon, Donna and Ja. My name
» Uh good afternoon, Donna and Ja. My name
is Heather Devil and I've been the
acting vice principal of Murphy
Elementary this school year. Um, hi. I'm
Heather. Also, we're um I've been a
teacher at Morphe Elementary for seven
years now, mostly five, six.
So, at the beginning, or I should say
last June.
>> Yeah, you can go.
» Yeah, you can go.
>> Okay. Yeah. Uh, last June, Morphe staff
» Okay. Yeah. Uh, last June, Morphe staff
got together and they decided that they
wanted to focus on some academic
achievement for their school goals. And
so the two goals that they came up with
were by June at least 70% of students
will improve their reading by a minimum
of one grade level and by June at least
70% of students will achieve fluency
with grade appropriate math facts.
So when we looked at our data because we
started a dibbles pilot and we were able
to get some tangible evidence of where
we were at. This is where our reading
scores came out in the fall. And when we
looked at our reading scores, we decided
as a staff that we needed to reassess
and we needed to go back and really
focus in on literacy first and then
bring in the math following that. Um so
with that we worked on
um taking our work from Kale Burke and
making observable impact to focus on
what our goal should be. So, we looked
specifically at what is the what would
the least literate student look like and
what would the most literate student
look like and we sectioned it off into
primary and intermediate as those might
change over the years.
And from there
um we have narrowed it down and come up
with a few ways to get to our goal of
improving literacy at Morphe. So, as I
talked about, we joined Dibbles, which
is a school district pilot project. Um,
[clears throat] and many of our teachers
have been been using Fly, which is what
Heather's going to talk about. Okay. So,
I'm going to give you a little bit of
background where we come from. I think
it's really important to remember that
at Murphy over the years, we've had a
lot of turnover. So, you don't have a
lot of consistency in how things are
being taught. It's also important to
remember that not all the teachers are
from BC, right? They come from across
the country. Um, and so everybody comes
in with different backgrounds in
education and what they want to do. And
our school in since I had arrived never
really had any sort of real core
programs in how to address literacy. And
it's one of the reasons we kind of
re-evaluated the literacy and numeracy
goals was because if a student can't
read,
math itself was going to be really hard.
So let's focus on getting strength and
literacy so that students can be
successful across all subjects. Um, so
aside from doing the designated BAS
assessments that we've been doing with
the district, we didn't have any whole
school programs. Teachers were doing
like some groups of teachers were
working together, other groups of
teachers were working together, but
nothing whole school to kind of target
phonics, spelling, and reading at Warp.
And so we had a v variety of programs
that we were using
[laughter]
um to try and target some of these areas
of learning but none of it was
consistent. So I guess we were using
bass. Some people did it just for
assessing. Some people would use like
the boxes with all the learning goals,
lessons and everything. U some primary
teachers were using fly leaf which is
another phonics based learning system.
Um, and then some of the intermediate
teachers were using words their way. And
to give you the an idea of challenges
that we were facing, you could have in a
grade six class students with spelling
abilities from kindergarten to grade 10.
So something like words their way, which
is geared toward individual student
abilities, is very hard to use in a
classroom with 29 students with 10
different levels of learning abilities.
So, we were lucky in that this year
we're targeting literacy because we're
all kind of more on the same page. We
really want to work together and we've
started using whole school programs
essentially which has made it easier for
us to support each other, work together
and come up with more comprehensive data
both qualitative and quantitative.
So the program's currently in use. We
have dibbles like Heather mentioned. Uh
we're part of the pilot program. Uh it
gives us basically a really great idea
of the strengths and students reading
comprehension skills, uh reading
fluency, and we're going to be doing
more learning in that and how to apply
the information we get from those
assessments to better help our students.
But we have found that the detail of
information it gives us compared to bass
is a world of difference and much more
helpful. Um all we started using youly
sort of replace things like words their
way and fly leaf. Um and then again
that's a science of reading based
phonics program and it says for reading
skills in grades K through two we are
using it K through six. And then we do
have some people still using words their
way, but I'll talk about that in a
moment. So the observable impacts with
UFly have been really interesting. So
for quantitative, everyone is noticing
an improvement in spelling tests. In
division one, 15 out of 19 students are
able to read and write CBC words. So
consonant vowel consonant words
independently with minimal errors, which
is a huge improvement from previous
years. And for qualitative, we have more
students able to write sounds of some
words. They're able to apply skills of
breaking sounds apart to find letters.
And we have improved phenemic awareness.
So students are able to more
independently read words and break them
down if they've never seen them before
to understand what those words are
saying. And we're seeing it at a greater
amount than we have in the past. Um,
just for general information, these
lessons are usually two to five times a
week. All of the divisions in primary
are using it. Uh, everybody has started
at different times. We didn't decide in
September, hey, we're going to start it.
Let's all go through. Everybody kind of
as they found the time to learn the
program, all started coming together.
Despite when people have started, they
have all seen positive success in
students improvement in learning. Um,
and then positive feedback from a
teaching perspective. The kids are
excited to learn to read, which is nice.
That makes teaching easier. Uh, it's a
really relatable routine. Kids know
well, so it's really quick to implement.
Kids learn it quickly, which means it's
easy to teach it. And the lessons are
really well laid out for teachers. So,
it's not a stressful program to
implement because PowerPoints are
already made, lesson books are already
made. You can individualize it according
to your teaching desires or needs or
what your classroom needs are, but the
basics are there to make it quite easy.
uh for the three four splits to grade
six um we have greater confidence around
spelling and reading stronger decoding
skills like this is the first year where
I have been teaching where students will
actually break words down and sound them
out independently without me having to
remind them um they're applying learn
skills independently and they're better
at connecting sounds and letters which
they all kind of would struggle with
right so like a ph sound like or an ff
sound um they're much better at that.
For some quantitative observations we've
made, uh improved spelling of irregular
words, such as because they're would
talk, which is helpful for kids at that
grade level, you're writing sentences
and paragraphs, it makes them more
confident in their spelling. And some
students are moving up three to five
grade levels of spelling, even if we've
only been doing it for a couple months.
Yeah. Um so again two to five lessons
per year [clears throat] per week almost
every single division in I think all but
one or two are using it in intermediate
again varying start times and then from
the teachers easy to understand and
implement noticeable student improvement
and use of new skills. Uh the teachers
love teaching it lots of all of the
teachers I spoke to very happy about
using it. Um, and it enables us to
incorporate practicing reading aloud and
sentence structure. So other skills
aside from it's not just spelling that
you're teaching them, you're teaching
them reading fluency and reading aloud
and we also do a lot of work on
sentencing sentence structures. So where
are we now? Um so just from the
beginning of the year when we started
our journey uh we're you can see we had
um 8.16%
and the negligible risk area and that
has almost doubled 14.42%.
Um but where we really look to is at the
at risk. We were at 57% and now we're
down to 52%. So that's honestly the
trend that we want to see. It's very
positive. We're just learning this
program and this way of teaching and I
am expecting significant growth as we
move forward. Our next steps are to make
sure that we're implementing this from
the beginning of the year starting next
year. Organizing schedule so that we can
have our resource and support team
coming in to help support these lessons
in the classrooms and then communicating
with parents. Yeah.
>> So that we can all be on board in
» So that we can all be on board in
helping students learn. And it is really
great to see the confidence growing in
our students.
Any questions?
» Sure.
Great. Great work. Great thinking out of
the box new idea kind of stuff it seems
for you guys. And I'm wondering if like
you learned this from some some other
place in the district that do a program,
correct? Yeah. And it's a pilot still.
Yeah.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> So when is it no longer a pilot and it
» So when is it no longer a pilot and it
will just be implemented? Do we know
that yet?
>> Uh districtwide I believe they're
» Uh districtwide I believe they're
pushing it out to more schools as we
speak and then we'll continue with our
work at our school into the years to
come.
>> Cool. Can I ask one follow-up question?
» Cool. Can I ask one follow-up question?
How are you sharing that out currently
with um like I I'm suspecting the
students feel it right that progress. So
is that being shared with the with the
parents as well?
>> I know that conversations are happening
» I know that conversations are happening
at a classroom level with between
teachers and the parents. Um our next
step is to make sure that it's
communicated with our pack and to make
sure that it's communicated and maybe
even to our social media or our online
presence and make sure all our parents
know the success that we're having.
Awesome. Thanks.
>> Yeah, just noticing that with a
» Yeah, just noticing that with a
community that has turnover, younger
teachers, even uncertified programs that
are well laid out and easier to jump
into and jump out of and do that seems
to be something that's helped.
>> Yeah. So, that's that's really good.
» Yeah. So, that's that's really good.
That's
>> and we have had teachers who are
» and we have had teachers who are
uncertified teaching it and we're able
to literally just give them the links to
the website and then the book for UFly
and they're able to teach it quite
easily. And what's fascinating is then
then not only students find success, but
then the the younger newer teachers find
success. And that's that's that's really
great. Thank you.
>> Um I just wanted to commend you for uh
» Um I just wanted to commend you for uh
seeing that there were gaps in the
system and coming up with consistency
and creating something where instead of
using all of the different versions,
bringing together the teachers and kind
of getting them on board with the same
thing. Um, I know personally a lot of
you that work in the schools and I know
how hard the reading component of
everything has been and the frustrations
over the years of trying to get these
kids to understand and I love seeing the
excitement in you and you say like you
don't have to help them anymore. They're
they're doing it now so which means it's
working. Um, and I I just I commend you
for the work that you do and what what's
happening here in McKenzie because uh
when the kids can read it opens that
whole new world for them. the creative
juices just flow and yeah so I just
thank you for everything you guys do.
Thank you. You're welcome.
>> I think it's fair just that trustees are
» I think it's fair just that trustees are
we really want to celebrate this work.
We love talking. We love learning and
understanding um what what you're doing
in schools. Thank you very much. Thank
you for taking the time.
>> Thank you.
And
once again, thank you very much to
Morphe Elementary. [clears throat] And
we can pivot over to welcome McKenzie
Secondary School.
Hello everyone. Um I just want to
introduce you to Jude Carter, grade 12
student. I'm going to sit down and I
just wanted to share that he will be um
highlighting some. If you haven't seen
this,
they come out quarterly. Um because I've
talked to lots of our folks who don't
open them up and read them. So, we need
to make sure we're looking at them. But
we uh tend to spend a lot of time our
vice principal submitting articles and
getting information from staff. So, it's
really great that we thought what a
great way to highlight some of those
ideas. And so, Jude is going to speak
about some things and how he connects
with McKenzie. Thank you.
>> So, I already know Mr. Dugan has already
» So, I already know Mr. Dugan has already
introduced myself, but my name is Jude
Carter and I'm here representing
Mackenzie Secondary School. Uh I'm just
here to highlight some things in the
quarterly newsletter and how um things
we've been doing has affected our
learning and just our connection with
the community.
[laughter]
Um, our school has a family day at the
beginning of our year, which I believe
helps uh parents really connect with
their kids and also allow a safer
environment for those newer students who
may not be uh super comfortable with
getting into the new environment of high
school. And it just allows a a safe
space for students who are just coming
to high school, maybe are really
nervous, and also leaves an option for
parents to get themselves um accompanied
with our principal and with our
teachers. And I think it's really
important that
um we start off our week with
a really
sorry I've lost a word before. It's a
great way for families to connect with
not only their kids but with the school.
Did you get to that?
Um, our school also keeps very connected
with our elementary school as um, high
schoolers will go down there and talk to
these students and speak about their own
knowledge while connecting with these
younger kids, which also allows that
these maybe grade sixes, grade fives
have more connections with the high
school when they do eventually make the
transition into either a middleear's
program or when they eventually get into
our main high school, which means that
when they are struggling, they have more
people they can come talk to. And I
think it's really important for these
kids to gain these connections as um
though they can learn a lot from
teachers, having a student that they can
look up to when nervous or just maybe a
little confused can really help them get
more acquainted with their new
surroundings.
I would like to say that our school
prides themselves in how many
opportunities we give for indigenous
education. I know that I took a lot away
from my own uh BC's first people's class
where our teacher took us on a lot of
field trips where we would go out um
camping for a few days and learn from
elders and we'd hear all of these
stories on how we could connect
experiences to everyday objects. And I
think I learned a lot about
how [snorts] I can connect with my
surroundings more and how I can bring
teachings I I could bring learning
outside of the classroom uh to a place
where it would affect my everyday life.
Every year our school likes to do a very
major donation in kind of a face of a
competition. We host uh can structure
every year where it brings all of the
classes to donate so that we can create
a structure out of non-p perishable
foods. And [clears throat] the
competition brings a lot of students
together. They're all trying to do their
best and win. And it also brings a
bonding experience to the classes as a
lot of the time we'll be in our four
major teams for a lot of like our our uh
school events. So, it also allows that
in those teams, our students to connect
with people that they may not see every
day or be in the same classes with. And
at the end of this event, we get all of
the students to line up and bring all of
the non-p perishables over to our St.
Peter's pantry, which just shows the
effect that our school has on our
community, especially when it comes to
the winter time. Food may be more scarce
for those in need. And I think it's a
really important thing that we do for
our community.
Um, Mr. Tapper has taken full lead into
some agriculture for a school. He built
some beds in near near the back of the
school that he uses when helping teach
life sciences or if he just wants to
help grow uh vegetables or I think we
grow fruit, but I'm not 100% sure. Um
these this produce is typically provided
to the foods class or used in the life
sciences class which helps the foods
class especially stretch their budget
which is really important because I mean
we could always use a little more
funding in other places. So if we can
find areas to save it it's it's really
beneficial to our school. It's also with
learning how to do agriculture. It's
very good for grounding when you're very
stressed out about life and it just lets
you sit down and help your mental health
which I think is very important and can
be glossed over a lot. And it's also a
very good opportunity for courses such
as life sciences and specialized
science. It just lets you get a hands-on
experience with what you're learning
about.
And a really big thing that we wanted to
highlight is our grade nine and 10
yearlong math. Um, I've been told by
teachers and by students that the
year-long allows to reduce gaps within
learning. Um, in cases where a grade
nine student takes a first semester math
class and after completing that year,
they may take a second semester grade 10
math, right? That's a whole year gap of
where they are not learning about math
inside of school. And it leaves a lot of
students to be get stuck, feel like they
don't know what they're doing and get
lost and feel like they made no progress
the previous year. What this program
opens up is students to learn year long
about both math and science, which means
that they don't feel as major of a gap.
And many students talked about with
their first year that they felt like it
wasn't benefiting them as much and they
really had a struggle with it. But the
second year from all of the students
that I know they showed improvements in
their mathematics and science and
problem solving skills should have shown
a real benefit in that second year.
And that's everything. Is there any
questions? Any
» Thank you very much for your terrific
presentation and you're definitely right
about that funding piece.
>> Yeah. Um, [laughter] you you referred to
» Yeah. Um, [laughter] you you referred to
connection a few times and I wanted to
ask how well you feel connected to the
DESIT, the district student advisory
council and events happening at the
district level if if indeed that is an
interest.
>> Um, well personally I've been interested
» Um, well personally I've been interested
in participating in DESAC, though I
haven't um pursued as much to get into
it. I do know that they do things for
the school, but as far as I know, I'm
not aware of exactly what they're doing.
Sorry.
>> Thank you. I I know that I've I've uh
» Thank you. I I know that I've I've uh
talked to students from the Kansas City
Department being down for the district.
I mean, it's it's just a
>> geographical factor. That's to make it a
» geographical factor. That's to make it a
little bit more difficult.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Oh, [laughter]
» Oh, [laughter]
thank you.
>> I hope that you go into something that
» I hope that you go into something that
is public speaking because you're very
good, Jude. And um did you tour us last
year? I did.
>> Yeah, I thought so. I thought you looked
» Yeah, I thought so. I thought you looked
very familiar. So, thanks for sharing
the information and I hope that that
information is being shared with the so
that it does get into the newsletters a
little bit because there's a lot of
great things going on here. And uh what
is your plan when you're finished
school?
>> Uh when I'm finished school, I'm hoping
» Uh when I'm finished school, I'm hoping
to take a gap year, work on saving for
uh university. I plan to go to the
University of Victoria for computer and
electrical engineering just because
that's what I have an interest in. Hey.
Um, there's still many opportunities
left. Matt's still growing up, so plants
can change.
>> I don't know. We'll just we'll see where
» I don't know. We'll just we'll see where
I go from here.
>> Well, wish you all the best.
» Well, wish you all the best.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> So, she like sucked my comments out of
» So, she like sucked my comments out of
[laughter] it.
>> But on top of that, are you part of the
» But on top of that, are you part of the
McKenzie youth table?
>> Do you do you speak at that? You should.
» Do you do you speak at that? You should.
[laughter]
I really think you should. I know your
mom's here. So, I was just
>> I think uh I think you should. um you're
» I think uh I think you should. um you're
you're an excellent presenter. Thank you
for taking the time to do this today. Um
and also um I'm super proud of McKenzie
being McKenzie trustee the programs that
we're able to offer in such a rural
community is amazing and it's beautiful
to see and it's beautiful to see it
being delivered by a student who has so
much passion because it's working and
you can see it and um I've watched you
grow up and and like you're I'm so proud
of you. Like I'm I get emotional. this
is my community and and I've watched you
kids grow up for 40 years. It's like
it's awesome. But it's it's proof that
even though we're rural and we have such
a small budget, we can still do amazing
things with the people that are in the
room supporting the kids. So, thank you
question.
>> I just want to add one last comment and
» I just want to add one last comment and
very similar to the other trustees, but
I look forward to the day when you're
taking over a similar [laughter]
finish meeting if you'd like.
>> Thank you very much for taking the time.
» Thank you very much for taking the time.
APPRECIATE YOUR
» So at this time sometimes presenters of
may scurry and move on to the next part
of their day. No offense taken if you do
and [clears throat] trustees will we'll
move on for the rest of with rest of our
agenda. So, moving on to item number
five, approval of the consent agenda
with the minutes of February 10th,
February 17th, and February open board
meetings and the report on the February
10th, and March 3rd closed meetings. So,
the recommended motion is that the
consent agenda be approved as presented.
We have a mover and a second here.
Trusty Weber, Trusty Holland. Thank you
very much. Any questions? All those in
favor?
And that's unanimous. Thank you.
[snorts]
All right. Moving on to item number six,
the business portion. Item 6.1, 2026 27,
capital bylaw. We are first going to
pass this over to our secretary
treasurer.
You want Okay, I can read. Yes. Okay.
So, the recommended motion capital plan
bylaw 2026 27. I'm going to read it out
because CPS D57-1
be given the first reading.
Oh yes, gotcha. Sorry, I skipped that
part. That in accordance with section 68
of the school act, all three readings of
the capital plan bylaw 2627 CPSD57-1
will be given at tonight's reading. Do
we have a mover? Trusty Holland. Thank
you. And a second.
Trusty McCury. Thank you very much.
Okay. Now pass over to I can sorry. All
those in favor.
And that is unanimous. Thank you.
» First and second.
>> Okay. Okay.
» Okay. Okay.
and the recommended motion that the
capital plan bylaw 2627 be given the
first reading. Do we have a mover and a
second? Okay, Trusty Holland, Trusty
Weber, thank you very much. And all
those in favor?
That's unanimous. Thank you. Moving on
to the second reading. That the
recommended motion the capital plan
bylaw 2627
be given a second reading.
Sorry. Moved and seconded. Trusty
Holland, Trusty Weber.
All those in favor?
>> And that's unanimous. Now I will pass it
» And that's unanimous. Now I will pass it
over to our secretary treasurer.
So the Ministry of Education and Child
Care um provides funding to districts
for minor capital projects and each year
school districts uh submit projects to
the ministry for approval. That process
and the submission was done in June of
last year. And so we were recently
notified of the projects that we have
been approved for. They are listed in
your agenda. There are three different
programs. The school enhancement program
which covers a heating, ventilation, and
air conditioning upgrades. And you can
see the agenda there's three projects
that have been approved. Uh College
Height Secondary for 450,000. Buckorn
Elementary um 550,000, DP Todd Secondary
400,000. And there is also a program for
carbon neutral capital programs. So a
project at Prince George secondary to
upgrade the highback system has been
approved for 675,000
and food infrastructure program projects
have been approved for smaller amounts
that you can see in your agenda to
support kitchen equipment and
infrastructure upgrades. So the ministry
does require a bylaw approved by the
board in order for the district to
receive those funds. And so the third
reading will be in order as well.
» Thank you very much trustees. Any
questions, comments? Trusty members.
>> Um so thank you uh chair. Um I will
» Um so thank you uh chair. Um I will
actually I'll be supporting this bylaw.
Um as these are important upgrades for
schools in our district. Um however, I
do want to raise a concern for the
record. Uh there are no projects
identified for McKenzie schools in this
capital plan approval. I would like
clarification on whether any McKenzie
projects were included in the original
5-year capital plan submission and if so
why they were not approved. I am also
interested in understanding how the
connection and condition and needs of
Mackenzie schools compared to those that
did not that did receive funding
particularly in the areas of the HVAC
and infrastructure. I think it's
important that we ensure equitable
consideration in our rural communities
and that McKenzie is not overlooked in
future submissions. I think advocacy
with the ministry is super important for
our rural schools like McKenzie. So if
those could be answered appreciate it.
» Well
yeah is not here.
>> Um
» Um
so this is in reference to sorry just
clarifying.
>> Yeah. So first question. Yeah. So, just
» Yeah. So first question. Yeah. So, just
the the the the bylaw capital that we're
doing, everything's been approved, but
I'm asking if um McKenzie projects were
included in the original five-year
capital plans.
>> Our facilities director does do
» Our facilities director does do
presentations each year regarding our
capital plans, but do we um that would
be going back to last year's
submissions, which do we recall?
>> That's what I'm asking. Yeah, I don't
» That's what I'm asking. Yeah, I don't
know.
>> So, would Brett would Brett be able to
» So, would Brett would Brett be able to
bring that back to another meeting? The
reason why I'm asking is like we don't
have a single project for McKenzie
listed and we have other rural schools
that have been approved but Mackenzie
seems to fall off and so we I do know
that there are infrastructure needs in
Mackenzie that need to be done and that
are not on that list and so if it was on
that fiveyear capital plan submission if
McKenzie was listed I would like to know
why they were not approved. So maybe J
can answer that. Okay. And I see you're
recognizing our superintendent online.
>> Yeah, I don't um have the details for
» Yeah, I don't um have the details for
the specific question that you've asked
um Trusty Weber, but I do know that our
submissions are based on need. They're
not based on trying to blanket the
district with um you know, kind of
equitable community representation. If
there were needs at Morphe or Mackenzie
Secondary that were higher priorities
than the ones that were put forward or
accepted, they would be there. Um, we
trust the expertise of our obviously our
maintenance and facilities staff to know
what needs to be done when and um I
can't answer whether Morphe or McKenzie
were part of the submission but I can
say that if they needed to be part of
the submission they would have been
» and thank you and just wanted to follow
up and make a comment that at this
year's AGM
our BC school trustees association the
conversation
>> [clears throat]
» [clears throat]
>> did come forward regarding
» did come forward regarding
a motion did come forward and was
carried regarding um [clears throat]
updates to understanding what facility
how we rate facilities in the future. So
just wanted to follow just wanted to
comment that the conversation
[clears throat] those seeds are planted
in different ways and yes want extending
on what our superintendent had said
recognizing that we have 33 elementary
schools and
Okay, thank you.
Any other questions, comments?
[snorts]
Okay.
Yes. Okay. So, passing this, moving on,
we are going to go forward with a third
reading. So, the recommended motion that
the capital plan bylaw 2627 be given a
third and final reading. Do we have a
mover? Second, Trusty Mccur, Trusty
Holland,
and all those in favor.
And that is unanimous. Thank you very
much.
All right. Thank you, [clears throat]
trustees.
Okay, moving on to item 6.2.
We will pass this over to Trusty
Holland.
>> Take a sip of water.
» Take a sip of water.
>> You're on. I'm on. Okay, terrific. So,
» You're on. I'm on. Okay, terrific. So,
we've got a number of policies to
approve tonight. Ideally approved
tonight. So, uh the first one 6.2 is
policy 2.50 partnerships, corporate
sponsorships and donations of the ad hoc
policy committee. No, this was reviewed
uh by the policy advisory committee. Uh
this was sent back to ad hoc policy to
committee to review the feedback and
this was um this is being recommended.
Sorry I'm getting mixed up in this this
uh um statement. So the ad hoc policy
committee reviewed the the policy and
the feedback from the policy advisory
committee and re we recommended it be
forwarded to the April open board
meeting for consideration. So the motion
then coming from committee is that the
board of education approve the policy
250 partnerships corporate sponsorships
and donations as presented.
Um
okay
uh do we wish to have we don't need a
secondary because it's coming from
committee but I don't know if we wanted
to [clears throat] record one.
Um, do we have any questions, comments?
>> [snorts]
» [snorts]
>> I'm just wondering just for the for
» I'm just wondering just for the for
clarity if you could please just
differentiate so everyone knows the
difference between ad hoc policy
committee and policy
>> policy advisory
» policy advisory
>> advisory yes I think it would be helpful
» advisory yes I think it would be helpful
just so people understand how things are
going about
>> okay so what's been happening is that we
» okay so what's been happening is that we
have been working to modernize
[clears throat]
all the policies within the district
which in many cases involves getting rid
of some of the very old policies IES and
making sure that the policies are all
relate to governance matters which is
the jurisdiction of the board and are
distinct from uh the administrative
procedures which is the district of
administration
uh operational matters because some of
our policies were definitely getting
into more of an operational lens. We
don't want that to happen. So the ad hoc
policy committee was created um a couple
of years ago now and has been tasked
with going through the uh the policies
in partnerships with a consultant and
Cooper who's been wonderful and these
policies have been uh gone through that
once they go to ad hoc policy once they
come from ad hoc policy they go to the
board then the polic sends them to the
policy advisory committee which is an
open meeting and We invite our partner
group input on those policies. Um you
can probably find recordings of the
meetings online should you be so
motivated to check for them. And at
those meetings um some of the policies
have gone through. People are saying yes
these are fine. Some of them come back.
So for example there was a couple of
wording changes that our partners would
like to would um wanted to see in the
partnership corporate sponsorships and
donations policy. That input was then
taken back through the board to the ad
hoc policy committee and then ad hoc
policy is sending it back to the board
to adopt because we believe that the
modifications that have been made to
this policy reflect the input that we
heard from the policy advisory
committee. Does that make sense?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Thank you. Thank you. [clears throat]
» Thank you. Thank you. [clears throat]
>> Okay.
» Okay.
>> Okay. And nothing seeing nothing
» Okay. And nothing seeing nothing
further. I don't know if do we want to
put up on the screen what the the policy
is. Um I'm sure that we all have it open
on various places. It's it's a fairly
simple policy that we may accept support
from the community in the form of
partnerships, corporate sponsorships,
and donations to assist schools to
support student success. We don't
mention school gardens in here, but you
know that's that's distinct. Um but we
want them all to align with the district
vision, mission, and values.
Thank you very much. Okay, recognizing
there's nothing further, I'm just going
to read out the motion one more time
that the board of education approved
policy 2.50 partnerships, corporate
sponsorships, and donations as
presented. All those in favor
and that's unanimous. Thank you.
>> Okay. And the next part of 6.2 Two is
» Okay. And the next part of 6.2 Two is
that therefore that the board of ed
education repeal policies 1323 donations
and sponsorship and policy 1660 school
partnerships effective immediately
» and again that's a motion that's come
forward from the committee
further we can call question all those
in favor
thank you
Okay, great. Moving on to 6.3 bylaw
number four, school action section 11,
appeals acting trusty.
>> Thank you. And on this one, the policy
» Thank you. And on this one, the policy
committee received legal feedback on
bylaw number four, which is the school
act section 11 appeals and recommended
it be forward to the April open board
meeting for the first reading. Uh so the
>> [clears throat]
» [clears throat]
>> uh the motion then from the committee
» uh the motion then from the committee
would be that bylaw 4 school act section
11 appeals be given first reading
that is um coming forward from the
committee. So we're not adopting this
bylaw tonight. This is the first reading
at a future board meeting. There will be
the second and third meetings. Um I will
I will note we we do have in the agenda
package yes that exact screen. Perfect.
Um so we must give we've been
participating in the review and it's
been reviewed by legal counsel. There
was quite a bit of work that the policy
did in conjunction with our uh
consultant to make this um I would say a
more un uh understandable and
perhaps more plain English policy than
the previous policy that was in place.
people certainly have the opin option of
taking a look at the uh new revised
bylaw um and their feedback on it.
>> Excellent. Thank you.
» Yes, it's been seconded.
>> Um thank you. Um I I really appreciate
» Um thank you. Um I I really appreciate
the work that's gone into this bylaw. I
know what kind of work has poured into
it. also the clarity it provides around
the appeal process um particularly in
the inclusion of supports like a
navigator and recognition of the
indigenous supports. I I really um I
really appreciate how it was worded and
how it was brought to legal for
verification. I do have a few questions
though from the accessibility and equity
perspective. Um first I'm wondering
about the requirement for families to
compete or complete the dispute
resolution process before accessing an
appeal. um how do we ensure that this
doesn't become a barrier for families uh
who may already feel uncomfortable
navigating the system? Um and then
secondly around timelines um
specifically the 30 calendar days to
file an appeal. Um can we speak to how
flexible that will be for families
dealing with extremely complex
situations because they may not always
fall within that 30 calendar days and
that does that exclude them from the
appeal process. Um and finally from a
rule perspective um including McKenzie
I'd like to better understand how access
will be supported particularly um
whether virtual options will cons be
consistent um and available for
hearings. So um those before we go
through to adopt this policy and I know
you're doing a second and a third
reading. It'll probably be brought back
to to the table. Um if we could bring
those questions forward I'd appreciate
it.
>> Okay. So would you would like those
» Okay. So would you would like those
addressed at a future board meeting
because I believe that that would be the
one that we'd have the discussion on.
>> Sure.
» Sure.
>> Yeah. As long as they can be addressed.
» Yeah. As long as they can be addressed.
Yeah.
>> Okay. As long as Thank you.
» Okay. As long as Thank you.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
Seeing nothing further, I just read this
out. Recommended motion that the bylaw 4
school act section 11 appeals be given a
first reading. All those in favor
and that's unanimous.
Thank you. Thank you for the discussion.
[snorts]
Item 6.4,
policy 3.20,
student placement. Back to you, Trusty
Holland.
>> Thank you. And the motion uh being
» Thank you. And the motion uh being
brought um forward by the ad hoc policy
committee is that the board of education
refer policy 3.20 student placement to
the policy advisory committee for
review.
and that's being brought forward by the
committee. So that's that's the motion.
Um and again, so what's happening at
this point is that um ad hoc policy has
worked on uh this this policy. We bring
it to the board and the board directs us
whether or not um the board directs
whether or not it be sent to the policy
advisory committee for that that public
feedback.
» Okay. Any questions, comments?
And you just read it out, so I won't
read it again. All those in favor?
Unanimous. Thank you very much. Okay.
6.5 policy 3.30 student fees and
financial hardship.
>> Okay. Perfect. And this is
the motion here that the board of
education approve policy 3.30 30 student
fees and financial hardship as
presented. Uh the policy advisory
committee had reviewed and discussed
this policy. Uh the committee had
suggested minor revisions to the policy
and
these uh minor revisions were were I
believe um made [clears throat] and then
uh we recommended that it be forwarded
to this board meeting for the
consideration of the board's approval.
Uh there's one thing I will mention here
because um I'm sure many of us has had
very uh strong feelings uh regarding
financial hardship and student fees. It
is important that the board of education
we provide students with educational
resource materials free of charge that
are necessary to uh participate.
Um and that
and that there are
in the circumstances in c certain
circumstances fees may be waved if there
are fees for optional curricul
co-curricular and extracurricular
activities.
Um, and to ensure that fees do not
become a barrier to student
participation, the superintendent will
establish fair, sensitive, and
confidential procedures that will allow
participation by students who would
otherwise be excluded due to financial
hardship. It's important that parents
know that that this avenue is available
to pursue.
>> Thank you very much.
» Thank you very much.
>> Comment. Yust.
» Comment. Yust.
Uh thank you for that uh Trusty Holland.
Um I appreciate the clarity in this
policy um particularly in the um
commitment that core educational
programs remain free of charge uh and
the recognition of financial hardship.
But I do have some questions around
implementation of equity. Um first while
fees are described as optional in
practice some activities can feel very
much essential to a student's
experience. um how are we going to
ensure students are not indirectly
excluded if they're unable to pay?
And second, I'm wondering if we can
clarify how fee waivers are applied
across schools to ensure consistency and
transparency for families.
And then from a rule perspective,
thirdly, in McKenzie, costs such as
travel can add up very, very quickly. Um
so I'd like to better understand how
those pressures are considered within
this policy.
What I will note is that a lot of that
is going to uh that that detail would be
coming through the administrative
procedures. Okay.
>> And I will defer that question to
» And I will defer that question to
administration.
Those questions to administration
believe is your representative is on the
line.
» Well, it's difficult for me to respond
to your policies. These are your
policies. These are the board's
policies. Um, we have administrative
procedures underneath the policies that
you create that actually work through
the details of some of the questions
that have been put on the table. Um, but
again, we work to make sure that
equitable access for all programs and
all opportunities exist at all of our
schools. And so I don't think that a
blanket statement could be made as to
how these situations would be managed
from one location to another.
Yes. And I do want to acknowledge that
uh while these policies are being
rewritten, then that work will come
alongside in the process.
Okay. Seeing nothing further,
just one more time. The recommended
motion that the board of education
approve policy 3.30 30 student fees and
financial hardship as presented. All
those in favor?
» Question.
>> Sorry, trustees. Can you
» Sorry, trustees. Can you
>> We just need some clarification around
» We just need some clarification around
administrative procedures. So once this
policy is passed and the board approves
it, then
those procedures will be written and so
what questions will be addressed?
>> That's correct. The administrative
» That's correct. The administrative
procedures are written after the
policyy's in place. Essentially, the
administrative procedures are the
details of making sure that the
intention of the board's policy are
carried out through um the operational
side of the school district. But we
cannot create the administrative
procedures until the policy has been set
by the board.
>> Okay. Thank you, J. And I did not want
» Okay. Thank you, J. And I did not want
to make a blanket statement that because
not all admin procedures [clears throat]
are going to be written, but recognizing
that within our tenure, our policies are
going to be rewritten. So as as needed,
those admin procedures will be adapted
as as required.
>> Okay. Sorry, calling to question. We
» Okay. Sorry, calling to question. We
need to move on. All those in favor?
>> Okay. Thank you. That is unanimous.
» Okay. Thank you. That is unanimous.
Okay.
And the next motion is that the board of
education repeal policy 5101
[clears throat]
financial hardship effective
immediately.
That's the motion from the committee. Um
I will just mention here just in case
people are wondering why are we we are
repealing we are repealing the old
policies as we have adopted the new
policies.
Just occurred to me to mention.
>> Thanks for clarifying. Okay. All those
» Thanks for clarifying. Okay. All those
in favor question and that's unanimous.
Thank you.
>> Okay. Moving on to 6.6 policy 3.40 fee
» Okay. Moving on to 6.6 policy 3.40 fee
paying students.
>> Okay. And this is a motion brought
» Okay. And this is a motion brought
forward by the committee of the board of
education group policy 3.40 fee paying
students as presented.
And what had happened here is that the
policy advisory committee reviewed and
discussed this policy. The committee
suggested minor revisions to the policy
and then recommended it be forwarded to
this board meeting for the consideration
of the board's appeal.
And do we have policy? Yes, we do have
up on the screen there. So
yes, basically if you're from out of
province or out of country
[clears throat] and you are not
ordinarily resident in British Columbia,
there are fees that would be needed to
be paid.
Thank you, Trusty Holland. Seeing
nothing, going to call that one to
question.
Board of Education approved policy 3.40
fee paying students as presented. All
those in favor and that's unanimous.
Thank you very much. We can move on to
the next one
>> and that is that the board of education
» and that is that the board of education
repeal policy 5118.1
enrollment of international students
affected immediately.
and calling to question. All those in
favor
that is unanimous. Thank you very much.
6.7 policy 3.50
physical restraint and seclusion of
students.
>> Okay. And the motion here is the board
» Okay. And the motion here is the board
of education approve policy 3.50
physical restraint and seclusion of
students as presented.
And again the policy advisory committee
uh reviewed and discussed this
particular policy. The committee
suggested minor revisions again
recommended it be forwarded to this
board meeting for the the board's
approval.
And
again as we see on this screen there uh
we the board has the responsibility to
maintain safe orderly and caring school
environments for all students and
employees. uh respect for student
rights, maintaining student dignity and
the safety of all is paramount. So this
uh behavioral intervention should
emphasize prevention and positive
behavior supports. Every effort should
be made to employ interventions that
preclude the need for physical restraint
or seclusion
except in exceptional circumstances.
Carrying that language down.
» Yes. Okay, I have another comment. And
now since I'm learning things, I think
the admin procedures, I think this will
fall again into admin procedures, but
there are just a few questions. Um, so I
appreciate the emphasis um in this
policy on prevention, positive behavior
supports, and the clear recognition of
student dignity and safety. I'd really
like that. Um, it's important that
restraint and seclusion are identified
as measures of last resort. Um, so a
couple of the questions that I have are
around clarity and safeguards. So, can
we expand on how terms like exceptional
circumstances and immediate danger will
be defined in practice to ensure
consistency across schools because that
can fall short and we know that that
happens in many schools where they read
something and think it's this way and we
do it this way. So, I'd like to see
consistency through schools when it
comes to this policy. Um, secondly, I'd
like to better understand what the
expectations are for documentation and
parent notification when these measures
are used. Um and then thirdly, um from a
rule perspective, how are staff
supported with training and preventative
strategies so that restraint and
seclusion truly remain a last resort? So
if [snorts] we could have a a discussion
after that once this policy is put
through, I'd appreciate that.
>> What I will state is again that those
» What I will state is again that those
are are very operational matters. Uh I
don't know if the superintendent will
appear on screen and address any of that
at this point. Well, I I think they're
all excellent questions. So, thank you
for them. Number one, um I agree that um
we have to have very um specific um
information around um its usage. Um make
sure that our staff are trained and make
sure that our communication expectations
are clearly outlined in our um
administrative procedures. So, all of
those things will be put into place. We
are working right now to make sure that
all of our staff across all of our
schools have the appropriate training
and that certainly is a goal that we
will have um you know for the remainder
of this year and moving into next year.
Um and you know I guess I would also
highlight that these are exceptional
circumstances in which these are used um
and we will provide some definition as
to what those exceptional circumstances
may be.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Okay. Thank you. And just going back to
» Okay. Thank you. And just going back to
the motion that the board of education
approve policy 3.50 physical restraint
and seclusion of students as presented.
Calling to question. All those in favor
and that's unanimous. Thank you.
Okay. And the next motion then is that
the board of education repeal policy
5144 physical restraint and seclusion in
school settings effective immediately.
>> I'm calling to question. All those in
» I'm calling to question. All those in
favor. That is unanimous. Thank you.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
So, the next one is 6.8 policy 3.82
anaphylaxis response. And the motion
here is that the board of education
refer policy 3.82 anaphilaxis response
to the ad hoc policy committee for
review.
And that's a motion coming forward from
from policy advisory committee.
Um and again this this came to policy
advisory committee. It was reviewed and
discussed. There was items that was were
believed to require clarification within
the policy related to the ministerial
order and the committee recommended it
be forwarded to this meeting in order to
be forwarded to the ad hoc policy
committee.
I will further note that um again at the
most recent BCSDA uh BC school trustees
association um conference and attached
to the AGM there was um one of the legal
sessions uh was referring to various
policies that are mandated from the
ministry which technically are a little
bit more administrative than they are
policy related. And there was a
discussion at that point as to whether
or not some of these could be redirected
as administrative procedures only versus
requiring to be board policies. So I
don't know if that's something that we
can follow up with a consultant there
with a consultant with as well or if
there's
school treasur secretary treasurer
networks regarding that because yes
>> and thank you very much trustee Holland.
» and thank you very much trustee Holland.
um any opportunity where we have those
um to kind of bring folks like in our
community along in uh what governance
looks like or what the role of a trustee
looks like versus um you know that
operations piece is very is very helpful
for all of us. Thank you.
Okay, seeing nothing.
Okay. Um so the recommended motion the
board of education refer policy 3.82 A2
aniflexus response to the ad hoc policy
committee for review. All those in favor
and that is unanimous. Thank you very
much. Thank you Trusty Holland. That is
a lot of um heavy work that has
happened. Thank you.
>> And yeah,
» And yeah,
>> we are very hopeful we get these
» we are very hopeful we get these
policies done by the end of our term.
>> Try to make it happen.
» Try to make it happen.
Okay. Item 6.9 draft 2026 27 annual
budget. Very exciting. over to our
secretary and [laughter] treasure
policy. This budget
there's presentation attached to the um
agenda. It's up on the screen and I'll
review it. Um the 2627 budget is still
in the development stage. This is the
first draft of the budget and it's here
available for review, available for
feedback and um questions by trustees.
Next slide.
The district's budget is made up of
three funds: operating, special purpose,
and capital funds. The $24 million
special purpose fund budget represents
about 11% of the district budget. These
funds are received for a specific
purpose and spending is restricted to
the intent of the funds. So things like
um the new facilities grant, the
classroom enhancement fund, those are
grants that are reported under special
purpose funds. The $11 million capital
fund is about 5% of the district budget
and includes the funding and costs for
building improvements and purchases of
equipment and vehicles.
The $182 million operating fund makes up
84% of the district budget. It includes
instructional programs, school and
district administration, facilities
operations and maintenance, and student
transportation. The district has some
flexibility in how it allocates
operating funds within certain
parameters. So that is where our focus
will be tonight for meeting.
The next slide shows the main driver of
both operating revenue and costs which
is student enrollment. Student
enrollment has been gradually declining
since the two 202425 school year and is
projected to continue this trend. We
have fewer students coming in at
kindergarten than we have leaving at
grade 12. And so it really is just a a
function of students enrolling in the
district. As fewer students come in and
more students leave, we'll continue to
see a decline in enrollment. The annual
budget for next year is based on a
projected enrollment decline of
approximately 150 students.
Operating revenues are projected at 181
million.
178 million of that is the Ministry of
Education and Child Care Operating
Grant. It makes up 98% of our operating
revenue. So, we are certainly dependent
on the Ministry for funding. The
operating grant amount is driven mainly
by student enrollment numbers and by the
number of students in our district with
unique needs. There are other factors
that impact the operating grant amount
such as our district's average teacher
salary compared to the provincial
average and unique geographic factors
such as weather, size of schools and
communities, and how g geographically
spread out the district is.
There's approximately a $1 million
increase in the estimated operating
grant for next year. This is the result
of an increase in funding for unique
student needs. Even though our
enrollment based funding is less due to
lower student enrollment, the ministry's
per student funding rate for next year
is the same as this year, which means
that there's no funding for the impacts
or no additional funding uh for the
impacts of inflation or any increased
costs on district services and supplies
costs. There will be additional funding
for the recent increases in um
collective agreements and exempt staff.
That will come at a later date. It's not
yet incorporated in this budget.
So salaries and benefit costs make up
88% of the district's operating costs or
approximately 160 million for next year.
The preliminary budget presents wages
and benefit costs at current year rates.
As I stated, they are not the increases
um that we will receive funding for have
not yet been incorporated.
Operating services and supplies costs
are projected to be about 21.6 million
or 12% of the operating budget.
The 160 million of salary costs in the
operating fund are broken down by
employee group. So teachers make up 51%
of the operating salaries and benefits.
Educational assistants, youthare
workers, and indigenous education
workers make up 19%.
Principles and vice principles are 8%
and support staff positions such as
custodial, clerical, and maintenance
employees make up 11%. Other profession
professional staff make up 7% of the
budget and relief staff or substitute
staff make up 4% of operating salaries.
Wage costs for next year are similar to
this year. There is a budgeted increase
in um educational assistant positions
due to the increase in inclusive
education funding that we anticipate and
an increase in cost for substitute staff
based on costs experienced this year.
There's a slight increase in benefit
costs reflecting rising costs of
employee benefit plans. In addition to
the operating fund costs of 160 million,
there's another approximately 15.4 4
million of wages and benefit costs in
the special purpose funds, including
11.5 million in teacher costs and
classroom enhancement funds. So in
addition to the 65 almost 66 million
there for teachers, there is another 11
million in teacher salaries in your
special purpose.
The operating fund services and supplies
costs are budgeted at 21.6 million. The
$5 million service costs include
services like snow clearing, software
license fees, telephone and photocopier
usage charges and make up 25% of the
supplies and services budget. Student
transportation costs of $5 million is
mainly the contract for school
transportation and that makes up 23% of
the supplies and services budget.
Rentals and leases at $1 million make up
8% of services and supplies costs and is
made up mainly of computer and vehicle
leases.
Supplies of 4.7 million make up 22% of
the budget and include things like
classroom supplies, learning resources,
library books, as well as the materials
to maintain and repair buildings.
Utilities, which includes the cost of
heat and light in buildings, are
projected at 3.3 million and make up 16%
of the budget.
The remaining 15% of supplies and
services costs are made up of staff,
professional development, travel,
rentals and leases, insurance, and dues
and fees.
This is another way to look at how the
operating dollars are spent. It's
reported by function or category of
expense. Instruction includes all
programs related to student instruction.
So the cost of all the staff services
and supplies required to deliver
classroom instruction, library services,
student counseling, special education
programs, indigenous education programs,
and school-based administration costs.
These costs make up 81% or 146 million
of the budget. District administration
includes the costs of all programs
related to the board of education,
district level education, leadership and
administration, as well as business
services, including human resources and
labor relations activities. District
administration costs make up 4% of the
operating budget or $7.9 million.
Operations and maintenance includes the
cost of operating and maintaining sites,
buildings, furniture, and equipment and
vehicles. Examples of costs include
custodial services, maintenance of
buildings and grounds, and utilities
costs. Operations and maintenance costs
make up 12% of the operating budget or
22 million altogether. Transportation
and housing costs includes all costs
related to the transportation and
housing of students. It's 3% of our
operating costs or 5.1 billion.
The preliminary budget presents
operating expenses and capital asset
purchases in excess of operating
revenues by 529,000. So you can see the
revenue of 181,295,000
versus projected expenses of
181,825,000.
[snorts] We'll review the items
supported by the use of surplus or the
529,000 in an upcoming slide.
So the changes for
uh changes for next year or changes you
could say that are uh different from
this year are listed on the slide.
[snorts]
As referenced earlier with no increase
to the per student rate the basic
funding structure hasn't changed. We've
increased funding for numeracy,
literacy, and teacher mentorship,
incorporated ongoing technology costs, a
small amount for DESAC for increased uh
leadership, student leadership
opportunities, district office staffing
efficiencies, and we've adjusted for
inflation or increases where they are
known or anticipated. So, no major
changes from this year um forward to
next year. [clears throat]
So, the items we are recommending to
fund from surplus. And when you look at
surplus um amounts, you look to see that
they're usually one-time events or they
are for programs that we are not sure
will continue. So, we fund them, try
them, and if they are successful and
need to continue, then we will look in a
future budget year to build those into
the budget.
So the amount of surplus that was
highlighted on a previous slide was
$799,000.
529,000
of those of those $799,000
are listed on the slide here. They're
either onetime cost such as the
enterprise resource uh program
transition. So we're moving from our
current financial system of SDS to Spark
Rock.
So that is a onetime cost that we will
charge to surplus. It won't be incurred
after next year. where we look at new
costs that may not be ongoing depending
on implementation and use. The remaining
$270,000 budgeted uh for capital use is
for uh school projectors. The district
is uh embarking on a project where all
schools will school projectors will be
replaced and that is uh will be um a
fairly expensive project and it will
take a few years to do but we are
setting aside funding for that project.
Uh the 270,000 also includes custodial
equipment and other furniture and
equipment.
The board also has projects to be funded
by local capital dollars and they are
listed on the screen as well. Each year
the board reserves dollars for capital
purchases as they can be difficult to
fund in one year.
uh setting aside fund funds each year
allows for stable funding projections
and minimizes financial challenges. So
for example, if if [clears throat]
suddenly we had not saved um let's say
for the Wi-Fi equipment replacement and
we had to find $2 million because those
funds had not been set aside, that would
make a uh challenge to the budget in a
in a one-year um term. So the board is
setting aside funds so that we can uh
fund these projects in the future.
The next steps in the budget timeline
are also on the screen. We have a survey
that is available on the district
website that people can um respond to
the budget, provide input. They can also
submit to the school district in via
email or uh mail, regular mail. Um and
that period ends on April 22nd. We met
with um the district student advisory
council yesterday. And I have to say I
have been a secretary treasurer for over
20 years. And that is the first time
that I've ever had a chance to sit down
with a or get feedback from a fairly
large group of intelligent articulate
stu articulate students and I think that
is something that we will have [snorts]
to incorporate annually um to really
spend time with them. they've given us
uh a number of sheets of input and so it
will be interesting to consider that
feedback for the board to to review and
consider how they will be able to
incorporate it in the budget. Uh we meet
with the indigenous education council
tomorrow to get um feedback on the
preliminary budget and their budget
priorities. April 28th is a public
committee the whole meeting where you
will receive a summary of the public
input that has been received through the
variety of um sources that have been
identified. And then May 12th uh the
next version of the budget will be
presented for your approval um and it
must be submitted to the ministry by
June 30th.
» Wonderful. Okay. Thank you very much.
Thank um
before we move into discussion and
comments, I really want to take the
opportunity to commend staff for the
work that goes into this. um when I when
I see this presentation, I feel that
that sense of responsibility that you
have um into the future and into
stability today while trying to um
incorporate because um I know I have
heard in some I've heard some of those
feedback pieces from uh local partners
and I can see elements of them in there.
So wanting to commend opening it up to
questions, comments from trustees. Yes,
trusty Weber and Trusty Holland. Um I I
second what Erica has said. Um
definitely appreciate the work that's
gone into developing the draft budget.
Our house team is amazing. Um you've
been able to um really just bring in an
overall stability which is something
that um I don't think the district has
seen in a while. Um first um just a
couple questions with the declining
enrollment um and wondering how the
district is planning to manage potential
impacts on programs and staffing uh
particularly in the smaller and rural
communities like McKenzie.
Um, do you want me to just ask my
questions now and then we can answer
them or maybe not at this time but just
get them up or do you want to answer?
>> Okay. All right. Uh, secondly um we're
» Okay. All right. Uh, secondly um we're
projecting a deficit this year even
though we are filling that deficit which
is surplus funds which is something we
don't normally do uh with surplus um for
budgets. Um but I understand the impact
that it will make if we don't do that.
So, I'd like to better understand the
plan to address that in future years to
ensure the long-term financial stability
within the district. Um, I also noticed
that there's a reduction in services and
supplies. Um, I'm curious to where those
changes are occurring. Um, whether they
are whether there will be any impacts on
classrooms and student supports. It's
very important that we do not take money
away from students and um I I think that
needs to be in the forefront of
everyone's mind while we pass this
budget this year. Um, and then finally,
how does this budget align with
identified needs in communities like
McKenzie, particularly given the lack of
recent capital investment?
So, those are my questions. Um, but
again, thank you for the work that was
done.
>> Yeah, thank you for the questions. I'm
» Yeah, thank you for the questions. I'm
I'm going to try to remember them. Four.
I think you threw four or five of them
out there at once. So, I'll see
them. But um you know essentially um you
were going to hear myself and the staff
preaching fiscal prudence often um
through you know the remainder of these
months. Um we have many potentially
unanticipated um costs. We know the
price of fuel of course has gone up
which means that our facilities costs go
up, our groundskeeping costs go up, our
transportation costs go up, the price of
shipping items is going up and we also
know that technology costs seem to be
rising as well. And so, um, we
are probably in a better spot than many
school districts. I spoke to a number of
districts last week, um, who are facing
significant, um, deficits in their
budget and are going to have to look at
reductions in programs, etc. We are not
at that particular place. Um, you asked
the question about our decreasing
enrollment. Um, it doesn't
impact us, I guess, as cleanly as I, you
know, I can't even say as I would like
it to, as one might expect. Losing a 100
students across the district doesn't
necessarily mean that we're going to
actually have any less classrooms. It
literally could be one student amongst a
100 classrooms across our school
district. And so what we will be looking
at is obviously if we have less students
in the district um and a school for
example has um less classrooms or less
um sections then yes there will be less
staff um you know if you have um 14
classrooms rather than 16 classrooms
that's two less teachers that's
certainly a number of less EAS etc. But
the other cost of maintaining the
building, of cleaning the building, um
of providing, you know, all of those
other um services that doesn't decrease
because the school still requires a
certain amount of service. So, we're
being cautious um as we move forward. Um
we are really trying to make sure that
we are um being realistic in our
expectations, but at the same time, um
we want to make sure that the
initiatives that we've put into place um
can be sustained. Some of the
initiatives that Secretary Treasurer
Minabariat um mentioned are actually
helping us to find efficiencies which
may mean that some positions um become
eliminated and then those individuals
will be moving on to other positions. Um
and that's just part of you know looking
at when you bring in technology to
replace certain um personnel driven um
tasks then sometimes you know you only
need two people instead of three people
or you only need one person instead of
others. and we will be bringing back you
know those assessments. I do want to be
clear that there are no district
initiated reductions that um have been
the preliminary budget and we don't
anticipate that there will be that need
but schools obviously have the
flexibility and need to look at what
their own service needs are and they may
make reductions based on their school
lens which is necessarily different than
the district lens. Um the district is
not looking to dictate or make any
significant reduction but there may be
reductions at schools based on personnel
needs or reduction of students and if
there was a aspect that you put forward
Trusty Weber that I didn't touch upon I
apologize and you certainly are free to
remind me of anything that I may have
missed.
>> Thank you uh superintendent. It was just
» Thank you uh superintendent. It was just
the uh reduction in services and
supplies. Just curious to know where
those changes are occurring and whether
there are any impacts in classrooms.
>> Yeah, that's a great question. I I
» Yeah, that's a great question. I I
actually don't necessarily know. Um I
think our you know director of finance
and our secretary treasure I will make
sure that for May's meeting that we come
back um with an answer to that but I can
almost guarantee you that it is not
coming at a loss of support for students
at the classroom level.
going to pass it over to Secretary
Treasure.
>> Part of the most of the reason for the
» Part of the most of the reason for the
difference is that we're in our budget
documents, we're comparing the um annual
budget
for the fall versus the amended annual
budget which is passed by the board in
February. So, we're comparing sort of
the first version of the budget and
we're comparing it to the second version
of the budget that's passed in February.
And when it's passed in February, it
includes um all of the surplus dollars
that were available at the school level.
And so they have at that by February, we
know what those spend are going to be.
At this time of year, we don't include
the school surplus amount. So it's not
actually a reduction. It's just that in
when you compare the amended budget for
2020 or for this year compared to last
year, you'll see that the numbers are
quite small.
>> Okay? So even though it's showing a
» Okay? So even though it's showing a
reduction in services, it supplies now
on our final budget. That money will be
put back as Okay. You'll see more of a
comparison.
>> Okay. Thank you for the clarification.
» Sorry, just
um I don't have a question or a comment.
I'd just like to commend
our staff for ensuring that we're being
fiscally fiscally responsible as well as
after coming back from BCSTA,
noting again that we are in a much
better situation than a lot of districts
in the province. So, I commend the staff
for keeping us on task with that. Um,
and I'd also really like to encourage
people to go and do the survey. This is
when we want to hear from everybody on
what your priorities are and what you
want to see. And if you check out the
website, there's also like a
understanding budget presentation that
is really useful and really helps like
just make it easier to kind of figure
out what you can ask and how to ask it.
So, I encourage everyone to check the
website and fill out the survey. It's a
very short timeline to get your input in
there. So thanks. Thank you.
>> Uh thank you. And and yes, I also had
» Uh thank you. And and yes, I also had
some conversations at the provincial
level with other districts facing some
very painful choices and echo the praise
for our staff's financial prudence. Um I
had I think three questions here. Um and
looking at the some of the slides there
[clears throat] uh one that referred to
the teacher mentorship. I believe that
there are several districts um that are
on a teacher mentorship pilot from the
province. We're funding this particular
teacher mentorship with with our
surplus. Are we able to share any of the
provincial pilot concepts or possibly
their money or anything like that?
>> [laughter]
» [laughter]
>> Well, the um provincial pilot is not one
» Well, the um provincial pilot is not one
um that we are necessarily looking to
replicate. Um I've had some very
preliminary conversations with um
Katherine Trapany, the president of the
PGDTA. Um and we have talked about
collaboratively um you know putting
together a group to look at um teacher
mentorship. Um apparently we had
something here in the past long before
my time that people deemed to be um
quite successful. And my question was,
you know, the fact that people like
something doesn't necessarily mean that
it's effective. And so I would want to
have some, you know, measures and some
um, you know, instruments in place to
make sure that, you know, the goal of
teacher mentorship is actually being
met. Um, but u, I think now that we are
finished with provincial bargaining and
we know that um, the ministry is not
providing dollars for new teacher
mentorship, it really is important that
we invest in our own and you will see
aspects of that throughout the budget.
um we are not getting um you know
leadership applications from out of
district or across the province. Um it
seems very important to me that when we
have our new teachers start with us that
we have to make sure that they're
supported and we're putting investment
in them because we know that many new
teachers leave the profession in their
first three to five years because they
just feel overwhelmed or feel perhaps it
wasn't the career choice for them. And
so we want to make sure that we are
providing every resource possible to
support those teachers, to give them
mentorship, to give them that sense of
support um at all of our levels. And
we'll be doing the same with upcoming
principles and vice principles because
again um in order to sustain a system
that is effective, we are probably going
to have to continue making investments
in our own people.
>> Thank you. And uh two additional
» Thank you. And uh two additional
questions. I'll do them one by one just
to make it simpler. Um is there anything
that you can share about the district
office staffing efficiencies lines from
this time?
>> Um I I won't go into great detail but
» Um I I won't go into great detail but
you know we have um basically
implemented some um new structures.
Parents might be aware of the school
messenger program which um can now
[clears throat] around absenteeism or
other issues centrally rather than
having an individual do that. Um, as uh,
Secretary Treasure Minerat spoke about,
we have a new financial system coming
into place. We have a school payment
system that's in place. Um, and we
continue to look at other efficiencies
to make sure that um, you know, again,
we are using available technologies. Um,
you've heard me mention before that I
I'm have been a little surprised at how
paper driven our school district has
been and how historically we really
haven't moved to modernize our systems
the way that other school districts
have. And so these investments will
continue hopefully to allow us to
utilize our personnel in more efficient
ways than some of the um products and
processes that we've engaged in in the
past.
>> Okay. And I think the last one uh there
» Okay. And I think the last one uh there
and this may be more of a question for
the secretary.
Um when we were talking about that
decrease in students, how that doesn't
necessarily mean a decrease in costs. Uh
that's where funding protection comes in
from the ministry. Are we in funding
protection at this point?
>> No, we're not.
» No, we're not.
>> Oh, wonderful.
» Oh, wonderful.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
>> You have to be um less than a certain
» You have to be um less than a certain
percentage of of operating grant than
you were in the prior year and so far we
have not been in that category. We do
receive a small amount I think it's
called a declining enrollment grant. So
there is a small amount that comes
through that um but not in funding
protection. Thank you very much.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
Seeing nothing else, um I just want to
make one final comment and emphasis on
what Trusty McCur had said regarding
that public input period. This is that
space for communities to really give
their voice and insight into this budget
cycle. Uh recognizing that trustee work,
schoolboard work plans, you know, uh
throughout the year, this is that that
one space where we really want to hear
those voices. and um on the school
district website the BC the cost
pressures report which is the uh report
that trusty mccury was referring to. So
if you can check out those two pieces
and share them with your community uh
we'd love to love to be alongside in
that process. Okay, thank you very much
and we look forward to coming together
with the committee of the whole to hear
that public input in the coming weeks.
Okay, uh moving along. Okay, I think
we're good. Yes. Okay, moving along to
7.1. We're going to pass over. Trusty
Mccari is going to have their first
indigenous education council um meeting
later this month. So, we can go ahead to
district admin reports and the strategic
plan update with our superintendent.
>> Yeah, thank you. Um I believe there was
» Yeah, thank you. Um I believe there was
a memo attached in the package. Um but
just to um provide information to you
know those in attendance and um those
who are joining us online um the board
earlier this year or perhaps it was even
last year I can't recall hired Roots and
Rivers who is a consulting firm out of
the Lower Mainland to um do the work for
our strategic plan. Um part of that
process was a public survey that went
out prior to spring break. We had just
under 900 responses um to that survey
and so um I'm told based on our
population across the district that is a
very positive response. Um we are just
in the midst now of planning umly
engagement group meetings and so there
are facilitators from roots and rivers
who are meeting with a variety of groups
including our district student advisory
council our district parent advisory
council our rights holders groups our
IEC
um our
two sorry our three employee groups um
there are teachers and our two QP groups
and as well there are some opportunities
for um rural presentations and so the
principles in Vilmont, McKenzie and
McBride have basically um contacted
communities I'm going to say select
community members I would assume um to
be part of focus groups um connecting
with roots and rivers around certainly
um the needs in those particular
communities and then we've also reached
out to postsecary and to business
sectors um to make sure that we have
some input from them as to um ideologies
about what should be strategic
priorities for the district Um most of
that work should be completed between um
the rest of May and we are hoping to
then bring the board together to um have
them review all of that feedback and the
board will be meeting in June to really
then um disseminate what should be the
strategic plan and its focus as we move
forward and it is our goal to have that
strategic plan if not fully in place for
the most part in place prior to the
election of the new trustees this fall.
Wonderful. Thank you very much.
And moving on to seven 7.2.
We will pass this over to our associate
superintendent
presentation.
» It's it's first.
>> Okay. Sorry.
» Okay. Sorry.
>> No, no, it's okay. Yeah, that's all
» No, no, it's okay. Yeah, that's all
right, Vice Chair Mlan. I know you're
probably tired of hearing me speak, but
that's okay. We'll just continue
[laughter] on as we have things there.
So, um again, it's always a pleasure to
share, um observations of, you know,
learning and engagement across the
school district. Um and you know,
putting this free report together is
always a pleasure. Um so again we are
focused on the um learning objectives of
our strategic plan which are truth and
reconciliation, equity of access,
learning and wellness. And I will speak
to the first which is equity of access
um providing culturally safe, caring,
inclusive learning communities where all
students thrive. And so in the last
couple of months I've had the
opportunity to attend a variety of
school events. Um, you know, we have a
lot of highlights sometimes for sports
across our school district and sometimes
it feels like some of our other
activities are not highlighted to the
same degree. Um, I was able to attend
some activities focused on the arts um
both prior to the winter break and
after. Um, really looking at student
creativity, looking at students
engagement in music, guitar, drama. And
again, I just want to remind everybody
that these are activities that truly
engage u many many of our students, give
them a sense of purpose, give them a
sense of belonging, and really um re,
you know, I'm going to say elevate their
um engagement at the school level. Um so
having these evening symposiums where
parents and community can come in and
celebrate the accomplishments of these
students is a really wonderful thing.
And I just want to give praise to every
single one of the teachers and staff
members who work to encourage students
in these areas uh because I know for
many of our students finding a
connection at school is vitally
important to their overall attendance
and their overall achievement. And also
um looking at learning options to meet
varying learning styles. Um, I was able
to go to, uh, DP Todd where they have a,
um, hands-on program there for students,
um, where they have many, many different
ways to, um, demonstrate their learning
and to, um, you know, work with fellow
students and with the staff there, um,
to meet a variety of learning outcomes.
And again, it just really warmed me to
see that, you know, our staff are
working so hard to make sure that our
students are able to find success
[clears throat] variety of ways,
especially those students who in the
traditional classroom um they find it
very difficult to manage to um you know,
express their intelligence and share
their learning. And so again, just kudos
to all of those folks who really do
connect to our students and find ways to
uh make sure that our students feel
culturally safe and connected um and can
meet the various learning outcomes that
the curriculum provides. Over to the
next,
» that would be me. uh truth and
reconciliation committing to the truth
and reconciliation calls to action
implemented throughout our system to
ensure a healthier future for indigenous
learners and a system that acknowledges
and teaches Canada's true history. It's
great to see the improvements over the
last year or two. Uh camp trapping is
going well. Um there was a pesky beaver
out at camp trapping and so the Clayly
Elder Ron went out there and and went
along with some classes and students uh
trapped the beaver. So they were able to
see it being processed from start to
finish. And as you can see on the top
right, they helped to skin the beaver
there. But they didn't only stop there.
Uh they had a food sampler at Nasteo
that we were invited to and they had
elk, bison, moose, different stews,
jerky, ribs, everything that we were
able to try. It was delicious. And that
beaver was also on the on the plates as
well, which which actually tasted very
good.
Next, please.
I was also invited to go and do an open
and a welcome to students and parents at
CNC for the trade sampler. They're also
hosting another indigenous trade
sampler, which is great. The students
get to try four different trades such as
carpentry, welding, mechanics,
electrician, pipe trades, or milright
between those four. So, it's a good
sampler for everyone to get a taste of
what they want to do in the future.
Next,
uh, Northern Winter Games happened last
week at Joan McGinness. So, we had nine
elementary schools take part and one
high school. We also had our DESAC
students running some stations and some
pack parents running the food. So, it
was great to hear the success because
Darcy Davis, the landbased teacher at
Nosto, has been doing this for years.
So, it's amazing to see how much it's
grown and the students are put in a
leadership position where they're going
to other schools and teaching them how
to play the games and it looked like a
lot of fun. So, thanks to Darcy and and
all the adults and students involved
» and I get to speak to you guys about
learning. Um, thank you. Um, of course,
learning is the primary purpose, you
know, of our work with students. I mean
it it's it's really the reason why we
are we are in this business is to ensure
that we have quality teaching and
learning environments for all of our
kids. Um what I get to speak to you
about today is um our CTC program and so
this is sort of on the not the um we
heard a little bit about the the primary
end and this is more on the career out
the career ed end of things and we have
an agreement with our um our local
college the college of new CTC program
there and that's called the career
technical center. I think many of you
are probably aware of of CTC. Um I got
invited to their capstone presentation
just before um the break and that's
really where the kids get to talk about
how their first year went in the program
and sort of where they're going to be
going um you know after they they finish
that first foundational year. Those
grade 12 students um finish with their
first year done. They can choose to
decide to go on to year two um when they
leave us after they graduate or or not.
And the beauty of engaging in
experiential learning like this is some
students are really committed to the
trades and and Pam talked about some of
the trades and there are welding,
carpentry, pipe trades, mechanics, auto
tech, electrical, metal fat,
professional cook, but some complete the
year and decide, yeah, that really
wasn't what I expected. It's not what I,
you know, so they've got their credits
today, but you know, I am still
interested in the trades, but pipe
trades really wasn't the thing for me.
And sometimes they flip into something
different. So we had 74 students
enrolled. We had three in McKenzie and
and that was the ones that are going to
get the first year credits and get the
first year certification. Um we also had
64 students enrolled in youth sampler
programs. Um the foundation programs can
be highly competitive and sometimes
they're looking for a certain criteria
to get in and it doesn't meet the needs
of all of our kids at times. So the
district created this a sampler program
where where it's a much more flexible.
So maybe the kids attendance is isn't
great, maybe some of the academics
aren't great. That would maybe
disqualify them from the foundational
program. If they show success in the
sampler program, it really builds a case
to get them into the foundational
program. Sometimes kids connect better
to, you know, which which facilitates
better attendance or better engagement
or higher marks or whatever it might be.
So um we're just really pleased to have
64 and the samplers as well. Um 32 of
them there's an indigenous cohort that
Pam talked about. We have another cohort
of just women and the women in trades
programs is something that there's been
a lot of emphasis on because you know we
really we really want to see more women
in trades and then another two cohorts
with just a mix of students. So a great
sort of sampler program and some success
with our CTC which was great. Um next
slide please. And the other thing that I
just wanted to mention was um and thank
you to Heather who mentioned this in her
her report was this thing called
observable impact and this is some of
the the learning that our principles are
doing. Um, a lot of times in schools we
write great plans and we have great
ideas and we have all these goals and we
have no idea if they're working or not,
right? Like is it is it really working?
Is is are we meeting the success that we
want? Um, this work that our principles
are doing is is really focused on
pairing down goals and then really
watching for observable success. What
are kids doing? What is the staff doing?
What's our leadership doing? what are
our parents doing in relation to these
goals? Right? And when we can if we can
if we can see that we can tangibly talk
about some of the successes that we're
having. Um thank you for the work in
literacy. Um I was just thrilled to see
the presentation and the work that you
guys are doing here tying in observable
impact. Um there's a researcher called
John Hadtie and he talks about um
teacher efficacy and the and teacher
efficacy is a belief that if an entire
staff of teachers believes kids can be
successful, you'll see the learning
increase. It sounds like you guys are on
the cusp of developing that here. So
great work and keep going. It's
exciting. Thank you.
>> Good evening everyone. I get to talk
» Good evening everyone. I get to talk
about wellness and um this is probably
the most diverse uh topic that we have
in our district and you can look I'll go
to my first slide here and and if you
look at the items that we're we're
talking about here [snorts] and this is
when we we go to principles and we say
tell me what you're doing at your school
or your staff is doing at your school
with wellness and you can see that
there's a wide discrepancy or a wide
variation on what wellness would look
like and and you can see like like a
drama teacher
um taking a group of kids that are that
are really interested in in
anti-bullying and then connecting with
the local radio station to be able to do
something that um that makes it better
for the school community. And you also
see Harwin has um a couple of staff that
are really interested in yoga and and
not only helping the students um with
that would be you know calming and
moving exercises but also the staff um
as a way of uh you know getting through
the the tougher winter months of of a
northern community. And then the last
one which I thought was was very unique
and and once again it it goes to the
uniqueness of the small community and
the staff within the small community.
You can see that there is a we have an
indigenous education worker at Delmont
Secondary that uh you know knows every
kid and and supports kids like that and
and she had this opportunity to write a
grant and you can see that you know it's
it's around uh sport uh activity and
indigenous students and and they put in
a grant to come up with to to make a
nutritional drink. Um, and so that to me
is is is quite unique because you got,
you know, a an indigenous education
worker that helps and supports kids,
that's writing grants to be able to
engage kids in healthy things that
they're interested with. And so those
are some things that you'll you'll see
um just by asking. And I think that's
the that's the neat part about being
able to talk about each of these kind of
strands of our strategic plan is is we
wouldn't be able to hear about these
wonderful things that are happening all
the way across the other part of our
district in Belmont Secondary. And then
when we do this at different
communities, we get to hear about
different communities and what they're
doing, what kids are interested in, and
how we're supporting their wellness. And
this this all is a result of staff
supporting kids in what they're
interested in. So, thank you for letting
me share tonight.
>> Wonderful. Thank you so much, senior
» Wonderful. Thank you so much, senior
team, for sharing bringing everyone
along and a little bit of what uh each
day looks like in schools. Much
appreciated. Yes, Christine.
>> Yes, I I did have a a question and it's
» Yes, I I did have a a question and it's
uh related to the equity of access
component.
>> [clears throat]
» [clears throat]
>> Um, I would appreciate uh an update on
» Um, I would appreciate uh an update on
the district's current approach to out
of province students trips as I I know
that letters to families have gone out
on this. Uh, could staff speak to the
current scope of what is and isn't
permitted. Uh, the rationale and whether
or not there's any community based or
external alter external alternatives
that families might consider.
Recognizing these opportunities can be
valuable for students, but there are
indeed those legitimate district
concerns around liability and equity of
access.
>> Yeah, I can speak to that. Um, Trusty
» Yeah, I can speak to that. Um, Trusty
Holland, I know that you're aware that
um I see a big difference between
curricular field trips and excursion
field trips. And even though excursion
field trips can be tied to curricular
outcomes, they essentially are trips
that take place on spring break and they
go to a variety of locations. Um, travel
of course has an extremely wonderful
learning component and for those of us
who are able to travel often, um, it is
certainly a positive, but I historically
have not worked in school districts
where, um, excursion field trips are
board approved, um, ex, you know, trips.
And there's many reasons for that. um
liability certainly is one of them, but
also the reality that um when we receive
an itinerary, we have no ability to
actually determine if that itinerary is
followed when people are going to
another country. Um and you know,
essentially it's not around a curricular
class or curricular component. So for
myself, my recommendation has been to
the board that we do not continue to um
have those trips as board authorized
trips. um other school districts that
I've worked in, those are essentially um
club or excursion trips or trusted
teacher trips. Um and they still occur.
They just don't occur as school district
trips um because the reality is that we
don't have any ability to manage. I'm
also actually really concerned about
what that message is to parents when
they believe that we're going on a
school district trip. um what kinds of
um expectations do they have or do they
believe that you know their child um is
you know kind of protected with um
versus you know the um non um you know
school district trips and um I think
it's a bit of a problem um and so for
myself um when I have had um school
district um excursion trips brought
forward I have not have been approving
them there were some place prior to my
arrival that had been approved by my
predecessors Um, and I think it's a
conversation that needs to occur at the
board table because these are called
board authorized trips and yet the board
has absolutely nothing to do with the
authorization of the trips. Um, they're
not aware of the itinerary. They're not
aware of the locations. Um, again, in
school districts that I've worked in in
the past, a delegation would come to a
board meeting. They would share all the
details of the trip and the board itself
would actually decide whether they were
going to um support that trip. and in
school district 57 that has not been
what board authorized trips look like.
So I think there's even confusion in the
moniker that we use um where a board
authorized trip is actually not a board
authorized trip and so that's the
current state of things um and certainly
I am um you know open to further
discussion and if the board determines
that they want to have delegations come
and they want to now get involved in the
approval of those trips they certainly
can do so. Um, but as the structure
exists right now, they really are
district approved trips and I, as the
district leader, will not be approving
excursion trips out of country.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Okay, thank you very much. We can move
» Okay, thank you very much. We can move
along to committee reports. We'll do our
best to move things along and respect
everyone's time. So going into 7.3.1
committee of the whole I won't read out
the entire report but on February 24th
um the committee of the whole did meet
to receive information a presentation on
what is used to develop the 202627
draft annual budget. So this meeting
included uh was recorded um and shared
publicly and included input from partner
groups and employee partner groups. And
as as I mentioned earlier in the agenda,
April 28th is the next committee of the
whole meeting date where we will hear
that feedback on this year's budget
cycle.
Any questions?
We can jump ahead to 7.3.2 policy
advisory.
>> Yes. And I believe really everything on
» Yes. And I believe really everything on
this report was done in when we were uh
approving um policies. So I will just
note that the next uh virtual policy
advisory committee meeting will be held
in a week I believe Tuesday April the
21st 4 p.m. online.
» There we go.
>> Thank you very much. want to just jump
» Thank you very much. want to just jump
ahead
>> and I can just jump ahead to the ad hoc
» and I can just jump ahead to the ad hoc
policy committee and again nothing new
there uh that wasn't already discussed
in this meeting when they
[clears throat] uh moved policies
around.
>> Okay, great. Okay, thank you very much.
» Okay, great. Okay, thank you very much.
We can move ahead to trustee reports and
school district news. Uh we have lots of
exciting school district news and each
trustee is going to speak. So um we'll
just move along in the order they are
sitting. We'll start with you.
>> Yeah, thank you. Uh a few things that
» Yeah, thank you. Uh a few things that
happened in Prince George's. One
historical is uh Duchess Park Condors uh
team won uh doubleA provincial
championship uh championship in Prince
George and that was incred that that was
incredible. But then they were named BC
school BC sports team of the year and
that was historic because I'm I'm
learning more about it that they they
are the first public high school in over
in about 60 years to win that award. Uh
usually that award goes to college
university teams. Uh but they their
outstanding
performance uh really garnered a lot of
attention. So, that was something really
proud of. And I as a as a I've coached
many teams and played, I'm always really
proud of our Northern teams to prove
that our athletes are just as good as
any of them out there. Um, next we have
a homegrown coach named Jordan U. He was
named BC High School Coach of the Year.
coaches basketball and he's he's come up
through our uh SD57
as a player and now as a coach really a
mentor coach and leading uh other other
coaches in in Prince George and
surrounding area. Um,
and then finally, something to keep on
your radar. I'm interested in going
seeing this Thursday and Friday we have
in Prince George at PGSS Secondary
School, Bandy Hall, if you're there. Uh,
it's called Musicfest and it's been
something that our local band teachers
have been running for over 25 years and
it's uh going to be a really proud
moment to see. It's you can research it
online and see the schedule. It starts
as early as 8 and 9 in the morning and
goes till 9 or 10 at night for those two
days. So, it's it's really packed with a
lot of a lot of great music. So, I
encourage everybody to see that. Thanks.
>> Um, I'd just like to give a shout out to
» Um, I'd just like to give a shout out to
the incredible students and community
members behind the Mackenzie youth
leadership table. Um, seeing a need for
stronger youth voice and stepping up to
create this table is true leadership. uh
your initiative, your passion, and your
commitment in making a difference in our
community is very inspiring. Uh this is
exactly what meaningful student
leadership looks like. You're
identifying gaps. You're bringing people
together, and you're building something
that will have a lasting impact. I'm
very excited to see what your voices
will continue to shape for our future in
our schools and for McKenzie. Well done,
and you set the bar high.
Okay, I'm going to recognize we just
learned at BCSTA
that one of our students, her name is
Emily Clark, she's a grade 12 student at
Duchess Park, has been awarded one of
three provincewide scholarships from
BCSTA, and it's um the BCSTA student
citizenship award, and they get $750
and it's recognized for those to
demonstrate exemplary citizenship
that show character, responsibility and
leadership and contribute meaningfully
meaningfully to their school culture and
they do community service and
volunteerism. So that was pretty awesome
news to have up on the big screen at the
provincial conference and we really re
um are grateful and and offer happy
happy to to Emily and a couple of events
are Spruce Land Community School of Arts
is having their art extravaganza.
Everyone come down to PG on May 7th for
that. And if you can't make that, on
April 15th, the Prince George District
Teachers Librarians Association is
having their Red Cedar Battle of the
Books and that includes 15 schools with
over 80 intermediate students. Um, and
it should be a great event. And that's
it for me. Okay.
>> And I have a couple of items. Um, one is
» And I have a couple of items. Um, one is
as the trustee representative for the
Prince George secondary family of
schools, I was honored to attend a
ceremony at the Guru Nak Darbar Seeks
Temple on March the 15th recognizing the
Peten Hill Elementary principal Nicole
Paulhouse and staff members for their
work and support of Punjabi language. It
was a meaningful opportunity to
celebrate the school and to recognize
the importance of language, culture and
community connection in our schools.
Also in the BC public school employers
association notes, I was pleased to note
that the 2025 provincial collective
agreement for public school teachers is
now in effect following ratification by
both BCPC and BCTF. The agreement
includes measures to support teacher
workload, teaching and learning
conditions and recruitment and
retention, including for our rural and
remote schools, which does include
include the McKenzie schools. I'm also
pleased to note that BCTC and the QPK12
President's Council and support staff
unions have reached a tentative
provincial framework agreement. Uh that
agreement addresses key provincewide
matters and sets the stage for local
support staff bargaining at the district
level.
And
other than that, I will say Spruceand
Spruce Community School of Arts. Wow.
Lots of art work. I've been in the past.
Tremendous.
>> Wow. So much to celebrate. Thank you
» Wow. So much to celebrate. Thank you
trustees for sharing. And the next two
items 74 7.42 and three. I'll pass to
the trusty.
>> So the first one is the report from the
» So the first one is the report from the
BC school trustee association which I'm
the provincial council representative
for. And of course I'm going to report
out on the AGM that we just attended. Um
but on top of the AGM we also had
learning sessions. So in the annual
general meeting the motions put forward
were quite um great and our northern
interior branch put forward about six I
think. I'm not exactly sure the number
I'm guessing remembering. We put forward
a lot of motions and all of our motions
got passed. So there were on a variety
of things that affected us but across
the across the province. So, we were
pretty happy about that. Um, and then
for the AGM, we had of course the
minister, Minister Barry, the Minister
of Education, and she used to be a
trustee. So, it was cool to have that
full circle for her to come and present
to us. But the highlight for me was
Clara Hughes who is a Olympic
championship
champion and a mental health advocate.
and she was she spoke for like just
about two hours and she was extremely
dynamic and such a good advocate for
destigmatizing mental health issues and
just told her story and plug because she
was that good that she has a book coming
out in October. So if you're interested
in that just so you know um and she
didn't I'm not endorsed to say that
[laughter] just so you know but it was
just a really good presentation.
Um, we also on author notes, we also had
Monique Grace Smith and she addressed
indigenous storytelling, resilience, and
trauma informed education and she's also
always incredible and another really
great speaker. On top of that, we
[laughter] had a whole bunch of mini
sessions and they were offered on a
variety of topics um with a focus on
effective governance, board resilience,
and student well-being. So we all
attended different sessions over two
days and yeah it was a great time but
that was just like last week so we're a
little you know catching up. So that's
it for that report. And then secondly um
I attended the the district parent
advisory council meeting. There was not
one in March. There was only one in
April and the representative for
children and youth was supposed to
attend but was unable to. So the DAC
just had a roundt discussion about
resources for parents and what works
best and how we can work together and
it's a great session. Um every DPAC
meeting we have we try to have a trustee
um attend those sessions and they set
aside an hour time where senior
leadership will attend with us and it's
just a and DESAC is usually there as
well. So, it's a really good um learning
session for us and I'll leave that
there. Thank you.
>> Okay, thank you very much. And over to
» Okay, thank you very much. And over to
district student advisory council. Um I
can jump in first. I went to the March
session which again um to Secretary
Treasure Mavaria's earlier comments
about the depth of conversations that
these these young people are having. Um
so March's focus was working with um
monogram which is branding consultant.
So it was a beautiful conversation. Um
so huge kudos to the student leaders in
the room and the staff who support them.
Um it was a very cool conversation
[clears throat] in a learning session
really for for these students in what to
expect, how to engage with um as the
school district grows their social media
presence. And it was a it was a very
interesting conver a very interesting
conversation to witness in just how
branding works, what kinds of key
messages we want to share, what kinds of
stories um they want to amplify and are
working on a shared form so that they
can submit those stories um through
throughout their schools. Over to you.
>> Yeah. and I attended the April 13th
» Yeah. and I attended the April 13th
yesterday uh the district student
advisory council and it was staff has
done a good job of trying to connect
students the student group with
community. So there was a presentation
that came in and this was the pamphlet
that was given out. You see it's very
colorful. It was from the
uh Prince George Hospice Pallet of Care
Society. So they came in to do a a
presentation and just kind of let know
that the the students know that they do
more than just pallet of care. uh which
is very important and these were very
passionate people. They they spoke about
there were some other things that they
do the the fundraising they do that uh a
children's grief support groups, family
briement groups, emotional peer support,
healthy coping and resilience building
groups uh for children, families and uh
they also are working at building
connections where they can offer inho
inhome uh pallet of care as well which
is a newer sort of thing that they can
branch out into the larger community
[snorts]
for
And this this is for a fundraiser
because they don't get a lot of they are
a very heavily fundraising
uh they need fundraising in order to to
run these and these are free programs
for anybody. Um and so they have a
walkathon in the in the month of May
between the first and 30th. They they
challenge people to register and you can
go online and register for this. It's
not just for individuals. Community
members, businesses, uh classrooms,
schools as a whole can participate in
this to see how many kilometers they can
walk and track that and then gain some
uh some help fund raise for this. Uh and
then on the 30th, if you're in Prince
George, it's uh on the 30th, Saturday,
Saturday the 30th at Clayton Today Park
between 11 and 1 p.m. They're having a
free uh there's uh activities, walking,
uh there's colors being thrown around, a
celebration of lives and celebration of
this this group and the work they do and
free barbecue and it's a it's a it's a
big fundraising for them. So that was a
really neat thing. So they were trying
to get students to go back and maybe
student groups build uh connections and
try to try to fundra for this. So that's
a that's a really interesting thing that
they had. And then uh our secretary
treasurer Mabaria came in and did a
financial
um talk and it was was really good
because the
our district through the years even the
last three and a half years I've
witnessed
a steady uh incremental increase in
student voice. So it's I really am very
proud of our district for not just
saying that they respect student voice
but this was not this was a tangible
thing that they had questions on big
sheets and questions and the whole group
of students which is about 40 students
were able to have input and I the thing
from a from my perspective what I really
appreciate is that even the quieter
students were able to have their ideas
and these sheets were big and they were
filled from top to bottom and and were
taken by district staff to to look at
and it was a a good even talking about
how can we improve this next year. So
there's some really good ideas there and
it's very
uh heartwarming I guess and inspiring to
see the insight and uh the passion that
students have for their schools and
building that connection and knowing
that their voice does mean something. So
that that means a lot to me and I I give
it was the best meeting in my three and
a half years that I've attended. So I I
would say that it was that inspiring
that those kind of things have put the
wind in my sales to to keep going. Uh so
thank you for staff and everybody for
organized that uh kept Mr. Madhouse was
there, assistant superintendent Madhouse
and uh it was it was it was really great
to be part of. So thank you.
>> Awesome. Great description. Okay, thank
» Awesome. Great description. Okay, thank
you very much. And moving on to 7.5,
correspondence. The recommended motion
that the board of education receive open
correspondence received and or sent
since February 17th, 2026.
Thank you.
Yes,
>> I did have uh one question for for staff
» I did have uh one question for for staff
um related to the the memorandum that
that came from the SE society in Prince
George's. It it was handed to me in the
meeting and just wanted to to confirm
um this would not be a board authorized
course. There is already a provincial
Punjabi course that that would be
available. So, this would be up to um
presumably a local secondary school or a
local elementary school to go out and
and see if there's expertise to teach
and interest in students taking it. Can
I just just to confirm that?
Yeah, the um requests that came forward
or the um I'm going to say I'm
highlighting uh you know number one this
is not a class, it's a club that is run
um by staff after school. Um so this is
not part of any of the curriculum of the
elementary school currently. Um most
elementary schools do not necessarily
have um alternate language classes
except for indigenous language which
we're trying to incorporate throughout
the curriculum. And if there was
interest at a particular um high school
for a language class, it would either
come through one of the already approved
language um curriculums that exist in
the province or potentially through a
BAA course. But it's not something that
at school district 57 is looking at
right now, nor have we had any um direct
application for that.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Thank you very much. Okay, seeing
» Thank you very much. Okay, seeing
nothing further, calling to question.
All those in favor
and that's unanimous. Thank you.
Okay, moving on to item number eight,
the closure of the business portion. So,
the recommended motion that the business
portion of the meeting be closed. We
have a mover, trusty Weber. Thank you.
And seconded, Trusty Holland. All those
in favor? And that's unanimous. Thank
you very much. Okay, moving on to item
number nine. Now this is a new practice
for recognizing that we've done this
work recently. So um we have question
period in accordance with bylaw five
board operations. Um I'm seeing thank
you staff our speakers list we do not
have anyone listed. So with that we can
move ahead to item 10 meeting
adjournment. The recommended motion of
the meeting be adjourned at 6:01 p.m.
Thank you Trusty Weber.
Secer trusty Holland. call us in favor.
Okay, that's unanimous. Thank you very
much everyone. Thank you so much to
community for coming out today. It
really is um a pleasure to be a part of
the convers being a part of the work
here today and just thank you for coming
and witnessing and taking part. We love
to visit you here and everyone have a
great evening.