Good evening and welcome to our regular board meeting of Wednesday, March 11th.
We would like to start by acknowledging that we are on the shared unseated traditional territory of the Katsis,
Miamu, Kwatlin and other co-salish people's lands of which we work, play, and learn.
Can we please stand for the singing of O Canada?
Thank you.
Thank you for the introduction.
Please stand for the singing of O Canada?
Can we please stand for the singing of O Canada?
Any numbers, how many? I'm not sure how many right now, but.
Yeah.
Is it just two stories?
Or is it going to go about two stories?
The addition?
Oh, the gem is two story.
Just two story?
Yes.
Yeah.
So we...
We're aligning the floor. The, sorry, the, here, here.
The gem is the green.
Yeah.
So the, the roof of the two stories is the roof of the gem.
So it's the roof of the gem.
Is that enough height for basket ball and other games?
No, not official.
But the whole gem size is not official.
Like the official basketball requirements.
This is a smaller gem.
The ministry allowed a gem, gem space that is less than, it's, I mean, slightly more than an elementary.
So these are already two gymnasiums of the school.
So this would be the third one.
But it's not official.
It won't have, like, basket ball or volleyball courts in it.
It won't.
Yeah.
And this is enough height to use it.
But it's not the official height.
The official height.
That's what I mean.
Thank you.
Okay. Thank you.
Trustee Larson.
So Trustee, didn't ask you about the parking, said 59 new spaces.
So I've been to that school quite a bit.
And I can tell you currently there is not enough parking.
Because I have to drive around a few times to wait for somebody to leave.
So with 59 parking and you're adding on a thousand something.
Doesn't.
So is that going to be enough?
Because part of that, well, most of that is going to be used by the staff.
Because obviously you're going to have more students at that school.
Where else can the students part?
Because at that age, a lot of 11 and 12 are driving.
And it already is a constricted parking lot.
Yes, the site, I mean, if you look at the site plan.
So I think we have to go for some sort of a parking variance.
But I think, and we don't see this, sorry, but all over B.C.
The parking is being reduced in general.
Like I think series don't drive as much as I used to.
And at the time the virus were put.
But I think here, if you look at this site, then we have maximized the parking.
So I think we have to go for some sort of a variance.
I believe we're meeting the by law.
Oh, okay.
We're parking on this one.
So we should not need a variance.
Okay.
So with that through the chair, would that then be for the staffing as well as the students?
Correct.
Thank you.
Okay.
Trustee Holmes.
Yes.
Here's part jump when I heard moving portables.
It's been a struggle for us to get the ministry to find moving portables.
I guess this question might be more for Mr. Riley.
I would expect.
Is this because it's part of the project to move them?
Is the government, is that part of the scope of the financial scope of this project?
Correct.
The portables are in the way of the new addition.
And therefore the moving of the portables is covered by the province as part of the capital project.
Okay.
So that's the one exception whereas if it's not directly part of the project they will not.
They have not been paid to move.
Correct.
Okay.
Thank you.
Sorry.
Mr. Superintendent.
So data at the end of the project.
Because currently they're being moved into the parking lot.
And the question is we were talking about parking.
And yes, we don't need a variance.
But if the portables aren't moved at the end, you're taking up valuable parking spots for
things that we don't need.
That is correct.
So while the province will pay to relocate a portable that is in the way of the addition.
Their position currently is that they will not pay to remove the portables from site after the addition is completed.
So we will need to find another solution for removing those portables.
Or continue to petition the ministry to pay for removing the portables once the addition is complete.
Okay.
Seeing no other questions.
Thank you very much for your presentation.
And we look forward to this expansion getting underway.
With an occupancy as you mentioned in the summer of 29.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
The board.
We're looking for a motion to receive.
Thank you.
Second.
All in favor.
Opposed.
None.
It's been carried.
Next up is by-law 387.
And I'll ask our secretary.
Thank you for site throughout elementary was approved for a 14 classroom addition in June of 2024.
The city of Syria requires a restrictive covenant for water quality treatment unit.
And in order to move forward with this restrictive covenant the board is required to approve by law 387, which is attached.
Okay.
So a motion for the recommendation.
I will move.
Second.
It's been moved in second.
A post none carried.
Moved in second.
To call the question, all in favour.
Opposed.
None carried.
Moved second.
Second.
And call the question, all in favour.
Opposed.
Done?
carried.
Second.
Okay.
Any discussion on it?
Seeing none.
Call the question, all in favour.
Opposed.
Done.
It's been carried.
Thank you.
Next it's the specialty program and academy fees for the next program.
for the next school year, 2026-27, and I'll ask our deputy superintendent, Halle, to speak to us.
Through the chair, as the school act, each year, the board approves the schedule of
academy and specialty program fees. The schedule for 26-27 is before the board for approval.
Okay, move for two. Okay, so move second, second, all in favor. Pose, none, it's been
very, thank you. Moving along, we've got a presentation this evening on inclusion and equity
across our school district. Again, deputy superintendent Halle. Through the chair, supporting
students with diverse and unique needs is corridor our purposes educators as an educational
system and as a school district. Here to present on inclusion and equity across the system
is assistant superintendent, Halle Ross and director of instruction, Kate Colter.
Through the chair, thank you very much for this opportunity to share all the great work
that is happening in student support and I will pass it over to Kate Colter director of instruction.
Good evening, thank you very much for this opportunity to share on inclusion and equity
across the system. Which is like to share tonight around our guiding beliefs and schools,
the strategic plan, running and activities that take place within students support in our district.
Our staff, programs and partners as well as new initiatives and first steps and some exciting
opportunities and experiences that have taken place so far this year. We wanted to just share
quickly around our guiding beliefs and schools. We believe in creating environments where all students
and staff members feel valued, experience a sense of belonging and have equity of access
to all learning opportunities. We believe in strong connections with our families and our communities
and that this is essential for learning within our schools. And we believe that students should learn
in their homeschools alongside their peers than less highly specialized supports are required.
We believe that instructional support should be focused on early and least intrusive interventions,
always guiding our work with universal, targeted and intensive supports.
We believe that equity and diversity are strengths, strengths within our district and strengths
within our department and schools and we plan for diversity as accepted collective responsibility
and requires a collaborative approach. We'd like to share a little bit of our programs and teams
working alongside Shawna and myself. We have four district principles, two of them focus on
elementary and two of them focus on secondary but they also support all programs and teams within
student support. When we think about a student's inclusion support team we always look at the
student as being the center of our work. Closes to the student are the staff members that work
most like most with the student within our school building. So we think about students that are supported
through our IST, our basis teachers and our ISWs. We think about our LST supports for our academic
supports and we think about social motion learning with our counselors and our child youth care workers and
schools and as always the classroom teacher and their principal are central support to supporting
our students. From there we have a bigger district team that supports our students as well.
This team supports with academic, with social motionals, with behavioral supports as well as those
inclusive supports that are as particular to that student. They may be vision supports, hearing supports,
or other supports such as supports for students with autism, Down syndrome or other disabilities.
And at the bottom there you'll see three light blue icons and these reflect our community supports
that we rely on very heavily and work very closely with and these are supports through the Children's
Foundation, the Center for Early Years as well as the Provincial Outreach Programs and those
which is a few examples. Our student support teams, we have our staff that we have at a district level
and also staff that we support in schools. At our district level we have district behavior specialist and
district resource counselors and speech and language pathologists, so name rules as an example.
We also support counselors within schools, child youth care workers and IASWs within schools.
We have teams that support our students as well. We have vision and deadline teams.
We have our district resource counselors, our data team, and then our early and heart teams that support
students in kindergarten grade 1, our LST helping teachers and so forth. And we have programs with
inner schools, our social development, our connections programs, intensive literacy, and paths.
And then we also have programs that we support within the school, our basis, LST, and ELL.
How do we support our student learning in schools? We always link of course to our strategic plan.
And this year we have had three key focus areas in the areas of literacy and numeracy,
student wellbeing and Indigenous students success. We have looked at our challenge program. We are
looking and continue to look at supporting through social development pilot team and our Indigenous
support team. We'd like to share a little bit more about those with you.
This year, at the direction of the board, we revised our challenge programming supports for our students.
We have two, I'd an arranged challenge teachers this year that work here with us here at deck, but they
being an attenorant, they're out at schools. The focus of the support is to support students
who've been identified as benefiting from additional challenge opportunities within schools.
In the past, our students would have been attending a challenge program in one of four sites throughout the
district. This year, these two lightenorant teachers travel to multiple sites throughout the district
and the support students in one of 21 families of schools and the family of school that is closest to them.
As a result of this, we've seen an increased number of students that have been supported by these
two teachers, a reduced sense of travel for our learners and we see equity now of supports to all of our
students. We'd like to share the successes of this new system. In this year, we have since September
supported 420 students in grades three and four at this point and they have been supported through
our challenge program. In previous years, through our previous model, we would have supported 150 students
by this point. Our new social development pilot team is a program of success in the program we are
very proud of. It's supported by one helping teacher and one child and youth care worker. They work
with students who have been identified as having complex behaviors who may otherwise have been
a candidate for the social development program. The intention of this program is to build capacity and
teams to help to build in strategies and supports and understanding of attachment and trauma
informed practices and to leave the school with positive behavior support plans and plans of success for
the student. Our target is always to keep our students in their catchment school and through our collaboration
with a community partners through MCFD and CVS in, we'd like to share some successes.
Since September with this teacher and child youth care worker's work pilot team has supported
six students in one zone from five different schools. To date, from those students at the
Athenaeans Supporting, no referrals now have been submitted to our social development programs.
And we have also increased the capability.
Passity 1 for teachers, in learning about how to support behaviors of challenge within their school.
As a result, we've seen a significant increase in the percentage of time of students, in increasing in their day and their days at school as well.
We'd also like to share about a new program this fall this year with our Indigenous support team. This also is one helping teacher and one child, youth care worker.
And they work with all of our students who are Indigenous who have a Minister designation from K through 12.
They work directly with schools and directly with families and linking the two together to ensure that we have culturally sensitive supports and practices and schools to support our learners.
Key to this is our collaboration with our Indigenous Department, as well as our community partners.
And so we work very closely with our, with the Center for Child Development with Frafka, Mati Family Services and MCSD and CYSN.
This, again, is another successful program and sits September 44 students with who are Indigenous within Minister designation in grades K through 12 have been supported by this team.
As a result of this support, we have not had any referrals through to alternate education or to our alternate programs within students support such as our social development programs.
Of course, we always like to celebrate our learning together.
Our team is very important to us. Our team is training our staff members within schools and our staff members within our own department on lower rousal approaches.
We will see the numbers here of the number of staff within our district that have been supported with training and is training also extends to all of our QP workers to our STA members and to our CYR college cohorts.
Each time we have a college cohort that goes through our trainers go in and support the training for them as well.
We have two lead trainers who have been supporting and training throughout Canada and help them support other districts within our province to be in skills on lower rousal approach.
And we have 18 active trainers within our district who come from the roles of district behavior specialists, inclusive learning helping teachers, some of the replacement teachers and inclusion support teachers and we have a youth care worker that is also a trainer and our team.
And they provide trainings during protein days as well as many trainings after school.
This year we hosted our very first and hopefully not our last community connections fair.
We had over 40 community partners that joined us over here at REC on December 4th and over 185 attendees which included students coming in joining and learning.
School staff who brought families with them to come and find out about these community partners as well as community members at large.
We hope to be able to offer this opportunity yearly for our school district as well as our family members.
We also wish to share a few of our experiences and opportunities with you.
This year we continue to support our students that have challenges with regulation and in our intensive intervention programs in particular we have students that have a need for safe and accessible ways of expressing their physical needs.
So we have purchased alongside with support in the Center for Child Development, some accessible tricks for these students.
They can fulfill that need of getting out and being in space and moving around for the year also safe and engaged in this.
Last year was our first year that we supported Surrey unified basketball where a number of our school secondary schools came together supporting basketball teams where we had those neurodiverse and neurodical students.
And this year again we will move back on to court again.
We just finished our play date.
It was a round resounding success and this year we had more school teams.
So we almost believe had a number of schools all schools in secondary school that were participating.
Oh, skip to two fast ones.
From this success we are looking to move forward with unified soccer and that will be the next sports agenda on for on the calendar for us.
We also have supported deaf cultural awareness this year with the December 18th we had a number of our deaf.
The facilities come to to wreck speak with our students and work with them and this really helps support to the feeling of togetherness and one.
With our students realizing that they are not the only student in our district that has deaf that requires deaf supports and the bringing together friendships as well.
And finally, this is another exciting new adventure that we are starting particularly in elementary schools with funding from the variety club.
We have been able to provide accessible sports equipment to six elementary schools and these students are learning Bachia as an accessible sport.
A quick summary and we thank you very much for your time.
Thank you very much for that presentation. The board certainly takes our responsibility to ensure that all students have a successful educational journey in our system and certainly those with special needs are specials part in our minds and hearts.
And so thank you very much for the work that you do to make sure that happens.
Thank you.
Trustee Larson.
So it's great to hear that the challenge program is coming to the school as opposed to the students going to whatever school that they sort of have to do.
It says a parent and grandparents driving children and grandchildren to these sites sometimes it's been really hard and I think a lot of children have missed out on that opportunity because they had no way to get to the site.
So I'm really glad to hear that it's sort of a different way of delivering those programs.
Is there any anything in the future that's going to expand to the higher grades?
What we have in the higher grades is a gifted facility.
Here in each one of the schools with the exception of three.
So that is a staffing that we are able to put into those schools which help support that work.
Then we also have a gifted helping teacher who works alongside the secondary schools to help provide opportunities for these students to come together with enrichment opportunities.
So I can't speak to any upcoming ones at rack but I can certainly find out for you within the plans that we've got for bringing these students together for enrichment opportunities.
And second question there was two acronyms that I'm not familiar with.
I should be one was heart and one was past that I thought was every rehabilitation program.
I should expand on those so passes a problem that runs out of silver telemetry and it supports students in conjunction with the children's foundation and MCFD.
It supports a number of students who are presenting with the papers of challenge within their school and need a wrap around a approach with the family of counseling and institutions that have had significant trauma that requires support.
The approach is that they come into the school, we have two classes they come in and then we work on building executive functioning skills and self-regulation skills and then working to bring that student back into their homeschool.
So it's a one year program within the spot.
And what about the heart and the heart team is an extension from the early teams.
But the early team is a team that's helped support and really think the word early being that they're kindergarten and they go in and help support students who have significant dyspregulation at the kindergarten level.
The heart team uses the ASUS score and which is a score that identifies whether the student is at risk for trauma informed and needs further trauma informed practices.
Alongside that student and so it supports students we've identified that students at the end of kindergarten grade one is where our focus does need to be as well.
So we shift the focus depending upon the needs of the students each year, but we have quite significant about the support coming in for kindergarten grade one students over the last few years.
Thank you for the work that pulls if you do.
Thank you.
Super intended for me.
Thanks for the chair.
So I've just interested you know with the unified sports programs that you've started and you're expanding into soccer.
I guess it'd be interesting for the board and us to understand like what's the longer term vision is there more opportunity.
But also what what are the some of the spin-off effects that you're seeing from kids coming together first off to play but also in terms of what happens when they go back to their schools.
One of the things that we are witnessing with these opportunities to bring our students together is that opportunity for our students that are neurotypical.
Coming in playing alongside neurodiverse students and being able to provide that opportunities for learning together and just being.
That opportunity where they can work alongside each other and take leadership roles and learn from each other as well.
The sense of pride that these students are exhibiting because it may be for many of them the first time that they've ever partaking of a sports team.
So parents come and they watch their child participate in a game that they've never seen them participate in before.
They're working alongside a team member.
They're scoring baskets and to various different levels of skill at their own team but they are receiving trophies or a medal.
They have a t-shirt that they that signifies that they're part of a team as well.
If I can just point out as well that this approach came through as a result of the student support team and the administrators reaching out to other districts and really hearing about the great work and other districts as well.
And realizing that we were missing out and not capitalizing on an experience of bringing our students together.
So when we think about where can we be going beyond this we would like to be part of the larger metro area and bringing our students together and having play dates with with other districts as well.
Great.
Thank you very much.
Thanks again for the working you did to help our vulnerable students.
We appreciate it very much.
Thank you.
I'm pleased now to provide an update on the work of the boards since our last meeting over the past several weeks.
Trustees have taken part in a variety of partner meetings and community engagements, including the district parent advisory council general meeting.
The ELL consortium and ongoing liaison meetings with stakeholders holders to discuss matters related to policy and budget.
Trustees also had the pleasure of attending several important community and school events.
These included the first family of schools and indigenous evening collaboration.
The story firefighters and mayor locks laptop donation international mother language day and the sale annual science and innovation fair.
So he impacts connect the dots event unified basketball tournament provincial basketball championships and the community powwow hosted at rural merit secondary several of us also served as judges at the district science fair science and innovation fair.
On February 23rd, trustees and members of the executive committee participated in our semi annual strategic planning session.
The session provided an opportunity to discuss current and emerging district priorities as well as continued progress on the policy modernization project which we're going to hear a little bit more about later this evening.
The board is pleased to recognize Ramadan observed by Muslim students and staff from February 17 to March 21.
This holy month is a meaningful time of prayer, fasting, self-reflection and self-discipline and serves as a reminder of the importance of charity, compassion and care for those in need.
The board was proud to recognize March 8, international women's day.
This important day gives our district the opportunity to celebrate the strides made in advancing women's rights and to reflect on how far we've come while staying focused on the work still ahead.
As spring break approaches, we hope all students, staff and families are able to rest, recharge and enjoy some quality time together.
We also want to extend our appreciation to the many dedicated staff who will continue working over the break to support our schools and district.
We wish everyone a very safe and enjoyable couple of weeks ahead. Thank you.
With that, I'm going to turn it over to our Finance Committee Chairperson Trustee Allen to give an update on the budget.
Trustee Allen.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chair.
I would like to provide an update on the development of the district's 2020-6207 operating budget.
The board plays an important government role in the process.
Our responsibility is to ensure that the financial decisions support support student learning and achievement while also maintaining responsible stewardship of public funds.
Now, this state's budget remains on the development and other ministration continues to refine projections and assess the financial pressures facing the district.
Based on current information, we are projecting another year of declining student enrollment, but to 2627 school year.
It's an important to note that student enrollment directly influences both the provincial operating grants and schools staff in levels across the district.
When enrollment increases, both funding and staffing levels typically increase.
Conversely, when enrollment declines both provincial funding and schools staffing, allocations are reduced.
In addition to managing the impact of enrollment change, the district continues to experience cost pressures in areas such as employee benefits and general operating expenses.
Administration is actually reviewing options to address these pressures.
While working to memorise impacts on schools and ensure that our approach remains aligned with the
Board's budget guiding principles. It is important to note that the budget development process is still ongoing.
Several key pieces of information are still pending, including the provincial operating grant announcement, which is expected this week.
The district is also engaging with stakeholder groups and has launched an annual budget survey, providing students,
family and staff with the opportunity to share their perspectives on the district priorities.
Our goal is to bring forward the final 2627 operating budget for the Board approval in May.
And at this time, I would like to invite Simon Eres and Simran Khan to provide some additional details regarding the budget development.
Thank you, Trustee Ellen, and welcome, Mr. Eres and Mr. Kang.
Thank you, Chair. I'd like to introduce Simran Kang, our Director of Finance and the present presentation on the budget update.
Good evening, everyone. I just want to take a brief moment to thank you for the opportunity to present tonight.
So, this presentation will be a status update on the 2627 budget that the overall development process will first ground ourselves in the financial results for the most recently completed fiscal year.
We'll specifically look at operating revenues where they're comprised of where the funding sources come from.
We'll get a sense of where the expenditures those funding amounts are spent by way of major expense category.
And then we'll bring our performance into context by comparing some key spending indicators against the provincial average, as well as looking at specific metro region district statistics.
From there, we'll then get into an update on the budget redevelopment process itself, specifically looking at the district's vision goals. How they give rise to the budget guiding principles, which are immersed in the development process into a totality.
And then specifically touch on key operating budget pressures that we continue to face each year as we develop the budget as well as an environmental risk from both internal and external perspective.
So we'll dive right in looking at our fiscal 25 operating revenues.
A vast majority of our revenues comprise a come from the provincial operating grant, which is about 933 million or 97% of our total revenue.
From there, we have other revenues, which make up about 20 million or 2% of our total operating revenues.
We have a revenue stream essentially consists of rental income, investment income and other federal related grants for day to day programs such as a welcome center.
And then lastly, we have tuition revenues specifically around international tuition enrollment, which accounts for about 14 million dollars or 1.5% of our total operating revenue.
Where does the money go? So what we have here is a bit of a comparison.
We're looking at our operating expenditures by expense function, specifically our instruction, operations maintenance, district admin and transportation.
On the left hand side, you see the district spending for the last fiscal year.
On the right hand side, we have the provincial average across all districts within BC for the last fiscal year.
From a comparison perspective, as you can see, the district spent about 87% in instruction costs relative to 83% from a provincial average perspective.
The district spent about 9.9% in operation and maintenance compared to 11% for provincial average.
District administration, about 2.7% compared to 4.2% on a provincial average perspective, 0.5% in transportation compared to 1.8% in the provincial average.
Just to take a step back and looking at the functions, the instruction function really houses the student related programs, applicable on a day to day classroom basis.
The instruction maintenance looks at our facilities and upkeep of facilities as well as our grounds.
District administration includes administrative functions such as HR, finance, payroll, etc.
And then we have transportation, which is essentially student related buses.
We'll go into some specific expense metrics.
When we're looking at percentages and looking at the instruction function, as I mentioned, the district spent about 87% of its expenditures within
instruction compared to a provincial average of about 83%.
Sometimes looking at dollars kind of brings into picture in terms of totality when we're looking at the size of our organization.
So to put this into a bit of perspective, when we're looking at that 4% delta between the district spend versus provincial average, if the change of about $36 million.
Meaning that relative to our size, if the district were to spend at the provincial average, that $36 million less spending that would be applicable versus what the district is actually spending within the instruction function.
Conversely, looking at district administration, our overall percentage at the end of last fiscal year was about 2.7% relative to about 4.2% on a provincial average.
And again, looking at it from a dollar perspective, that's about $14 million less by way of a dollar value when we compare the district spending in district administration relative to the provincial average.
When we take the totality of revenues and expenses, we get what is called our accumulated operating surplus, which is a ongoing continuation of prior year results of revenues less expenditures.
Revenue is if they exceed expenditures that will add more to our cumulative operating surplus balance, which is essentially the same as the count within the operating fund.
Conversely, when expenditures exceed revenues that will deplete the overall operating surplus balance.
From a comparison perspective and a percentage perspective, the district has its accumulated operating surplus at about 3.5% at the end of the last fiscal year compared to the metro region average of districts at about 5.8%.
Now, that overall accumulated operating surplus balance is an initiative that's mandated by the government is involved in sure that districts have an and keep an adequate reserve balance within the operating account.
The best practice perspective that generally ought to be between 1 to 3% in totality.
When we look again at the comparison of other metro region districts and look at their accumulate operating surplus balances, the difference is about almost 2% in totality.
What that means is if the district were aiming or achieving that district metro region average, that would add another $23 million to the $33 million operating surplus balance at the end of last fiscal year.
I'm going to put it into perspective when we're looking at percentages and dollar value.
In terms of an outlook for the current fiscal year, the district passed and submitted its amended annual budget for fiscal 2526, i.e. the Q2 forecast in February.
We have here on the screen in the left-hand side the actual for the last fiscal year.
The current year is a forecast for the current year in which we get a sense and identify where we think we're going to land.
As we can see, it is a balanced Q2 forecast for an amended annual budget.
When we compare that to the last fiscal year, there's some key things that tend to jump out, specifically around revenues, benefits and supplies and services.
Some of the key changes year over year that have driven that change is essentially a decline in student enrollment from the prior year.
There's an increase in employer funded benefit costs.
What I mean by that is a gap in which those benefit, the increase in benefit cost is not funded by the ministry.
And the increase will see in service and supplies, it's essentially the allocation or the use of the prior year accumulated surplus balance for initiatives such as the district's enterprise resource planning system initiative.
The conversion of our essentially our internal database to a more modernized system, as well as an asset refresh initiative, which is essentially replacing end of life critical assets that are in dire need of overall replacement.
With that, we get into the bit of an overview of the budget development process for fiscal 2627.
Specifically, we look at an annual basis of board refines and establishes its goals, its visions, and through its overall strategic plan.
These goals essentially support the district's vision of learning by design, which essentially gives rise to the budget guiding principles.
Those principles for this year, of course, are scattered to our development process to ensure that those are the lens that we apply as we develop our budget.
They are as follows. Priorit high student learning and achievement.
Line resources to support the district's strategic plan and key operational priorities, uphold responsible stewardship and sound financial practices to ensure a long-term fiscal sustainability.
Promote operational efficiencies and service excellence and maintain budget processes that provide clear communication and accountability.
Some of the ongoing budget pressures that the district faces as we develop our budget on an annual basis are presented as such.
Specifically, for this year, looking at our student enrollment trends, we had a decline enrollment for the current fiscal year at about 1,400 FTE.
The anticipation for next year is a decline of about 880 FTE for fiscal 2627, which equates to about a $8 million decrease in our operating grant.
As mentioned previously, 97% of our funding comes from operating grant, which is essentially driven by student enrollment projections.
On top of domestic enrollment, we are also expecting a decrease in overall international student enrollment.
Some of the key drivers that have aided on these trends, specifically, there are changes in federal immigration policy and foreign worker permits, essentially with the prospect of university and policy university jobs diminished relative to prior years.
Their families are less inclined to bring students into Canada and put them through the key to 12th program here.
In addition to that from a domestic perspective, we have seen some trends that were in which families are moving further east, not only in the province of BC itself, but Canada as well, so just going out east and cost of living, giving, driving a bit of that trend as well.
Another ongoing pressure is substitute cost or replacement staff cost.
This one is a larger one in particular when we take a look at the growth over the last four to five years.
There has been an overall 100% increase in the operating fund here, where in which in 2021 the total replacement cost for about $20 million.
At the end of last fiscal year that clamped to about $42 million.
I point this out because these increases across the board, they're not funded by the Ministry.
This is absorbed within the district's operating budget.
In addition to that, inclusive education specifically around the expenditures, the overall supplemental funding provided by the government has not kept pace, which is led to about a $45 million of expenses over and above the funding that we received from the Ministry to date.
Also aging capital infrastructures, as I mentioned previously, the need to have a refresh process in place in which we are constantly empirically replacing end of life assets.
So we can smooth our costs versus having no costs or smaller costs in specific years and then have a big spike in another year.
That aging capital infrastructure also includes the district's initiative around its ERP enterprise resource planning system upgrade.
As mentioned previously, unfunded increases in benefits.
We've seen this to be a trend over the last few years in which the overall usage of benefits has actually increased benefit costs.
And these increases are not generally funded. They're occurring on an annual basis and they're absorbing their being absorbed within the district's operating budget.
And lastly, around inflation on services and supplies, as mentioned, 97% of our overall operating revenues come from the provincial grant, which is based on a per block or per FTE rate.
That rate, in particular, is not increased for annual inflation.
It instead houses any increases related to labor settlement that is applicable.
So what that does is it erodes the district's purchasing power on a year to year basis, meaning $1,000 in one year will buy you less in the next couple of years because the inflation has just not kept up.
From there, we also do a bit of an environmental risk for both internally and externally and keep these top of mind as we develop our budget.
We'll start off with the external components. Of course, the planning student enrollment trend is starting to become a bit of a overall shift in the demographic.
There are continued provincial constraints rising debt levels, provincially, also has the potential of limiting government funding.
Shifts and overall government mandates and fiscal policies, specifically around capital project contributions.
This is in which the district is required to chip in a certain amount for capital projects, which again, the district must absorb.
And then we have certain initiatives cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified within the K-12 sector as an external risk overall.
And various cost pressures from inflationary and contractual considerations.
These costs are unavoidable and they are there is a need to have that absorbed within operating budget.
And then of course, cross-border trade tensions with United States through tariffs.
Then there's a fair bit of political uncertainty there that has, in which the district has experienced overall cost increases.
From an internal perspective, recruitment and retention of teaching and other staff, always top of mind.
Spacing limitations to accommodate student enrollment. So we've talked about the decline in this year and the decline in last year.
That doesn't necessarily take away the constraints or risks from a spacing perspective because the last few years we have seen a fair bit of growth prior to this year.
And of course the following year that still creates space constraints.
So that is an existing internal risk that we are keeping our finger on the pulse.
And then financial uncertainty associated with funding for collective agreement changes.
Those, some of those collective agreements are still pending to be ratified.
And so we are, again, keeping a finger on a pulse to see what the implications would be from a budget perspective.
And then supports for aging technology infrastructure facilities, equipment and machinery.
This goes back to the replacement of critical end of life equipment.
Again, having more of a purposeful periodic replacement process in place versus being reactive when things break.
And then of course, lastly, having an adequate accumulated offering fund balance for long-term financial sustainability, keeping
in pace with the government mandated policies to keep an adequate reserve and maintaining that we have that best
practice amount in place on a go-forward basis, which allows the district to be a bit more proactive, versus reactive,
and ensure our overall quality of education is uninterrupted for any unforeseen circumstances.
We'll finish off with some key budget timelines, and as the end of this week and years,
we are anticipating the preliminary operating grant announcement for the next fiscal year,
based on the district's projection of student enrollment.
Our budget survey consultation, a great tool that's out for input from a community perspective that started
in February 20th, it's set to close March 20th.
And then we have our public meeting on April 8th, as we round May 13th for the board approval of the 2627 annual budget.
So I want to make note again of our budget consultation survey that's out.
It's a great tool that's designed to essentially build understanding and overall awareness of the district's budget,
and really to gather community input to help guide the board of education's overall budget priorities.
Thank you so much for your time.
Open the questions.
Thank you very much, Director King.
Trust me, Holmes.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Simon, Simran, Secretary Treasurer, Budget Chair Allen, and the whole team for all the work you do throughout the year on our budget.
Making sure we have a good solid budget that puts as much resources and classrooms we can.
I don't have a question, I just want to make a comment.
BC as well, recently released a cost pressure support, and for those who aren't familiar with all the education acronyms.
That's the BC Association of School Business Officials, or to put it simpler, the fun-loving bunch of Secretary Treasurer's and other financial officials around the district.
And the report surveyed around the province to see what everyone struggles, where everyone's challenges, where everywhere.
And unsurprisingly found really all the same pressures that we've shared at many of our meetings.
And it's shared as Simran has detailed this meeting.
Between student enrollment pressures, substitute costs, inclusive education, aging capital,
Unfunded inflationary costs, unfunded increases all over the place.
It just aren't funded year after year.
And basically what they found is that is the case all throughout the district.
So I know that going through a financial report may not be under one's bucket list for a spring break.
But I would recommend having a look at it because it actually does a very good job of summarizing,
I think, in plain language and providing some good examples of explaining what the pressures are,
how they're seen around the province and how that really affects all districts.
So again, it's a BC as well.
Cost pressure reported we was on their website and probably can be found other locations for the quick Google.
So I would definitely encourage people to have a look at that and really help explain our budget process.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you Trustee Holmes.
Not seeing any other questions.
So once again, and I echo your comments of appreciation to our finance team.
Of course, our finance committee chair Trustee Allen as well.
So thank you very much for that.
And of course, there's indicated over the next couple of months.
We'll continue to work away at the budget and bring it forward in May.
And now our Assistant Secretary Treasurer Simon Ayers is going to give us an update and a presentation about that thing.
We've heard so much about it over the last many months, the ERP.
So Mr. Ayers, please.
Thank you chair.
First, I'd like to introduce shared, shared.
Food alert.
Our director of people service this right here.
She's a participant on the ERP.
Siri community as well as currently.
Orion is, it's not going to be able to attend tonight, but he represents the IT department.
She's going to be able to attend the IT department.
The evening, chair Trustee Satt and members of the audience tonight on behalf of the ERP.
Siri community on face to provide a progress update on our ERP organization initiative.
Knowing as project evil.
This investment represents one of the most significant operational improvements underway.
The cost of service tools and this foundational improvement.
How we manage people resources, information across the ERP organization.
I'll greatly cover what ERP is.
I've marked a standardized modernization necessary.
When we achieve so far and what is the cost.
To begin, what is an ERP?
What does an ERP system best?
An ERP enterprise resource planning system is essentially the background of your organization's operations.
It brings together HR, payroll, finance, purchasing, and other business operations into a single integrated system.
So everyone is working from the same information.
When this works well, it reduces duplication and improves our reporting accuracy.
And now I'm sacked to focus less on main tasks and more on service delivery in strategic credit.
The modern ERP also provides real time information for decision-making,
auditing, auditing, team processes, and supports for as organized with the organizational needs.
In simple term, it acts as a shared organizational brain connecting to partners to work those more effective.
This leads to why modernization is required.
Our current system has served the district for many years, but is now outdated and increasingly difficult to understand.
Bender support is limited for performance issues, effect reliability.
A manning process is still relied on manual steps and paper forms.
These inefficiencies creates frustration for staff and increase the risk of errors.
As a district, we've spawned to changing enrollment and organizational demands.
The existing system cannot scale effect.
At the next, at the same time, reporting limitations make it harder to produce time, reliable information,
for planning, compliance, and oversight.
Modernization is therefore not simply technical technology upgraded, it is an operational necessity.
I also want to highlight two of the people related in apps.
On data systems hurts, staff retention.
When people stand most of their data fights fighting slow systems and doing manual entry,
it becomes harder to attract and keep great talent.
Modern tools matter for job satisfaction and for competing with other sectors.
And finally, modernization lets us shift work from low value processing to higher value analysis.
Today is steps from much time processing transactions.
With automation, there will be able to focus on interpreting data, improving processes and supporting schools,
the work that values that adds value.
To address these challenges.
To address these challenges, we have selected
Oracle Fusion, as the foundation for our new European environment.
This platform brings HR, payroll, finance, procurement into one integrated system,
allowing us to automate routine tasks, strengthen and interpret internal controls,
and significantly improve reporting and analytics.
Because of this positive base, it also provides long-term benefit for it in peer security
and flexibility to grow with the district.
Since October of 2025, the project team has focused heavily on implementation work.
A major part of this has been process mapping and staffing agent,
cross department workshops have allowed teams to examine how to work,
how work currently happens, identifying interfaces and design and improve workflows together.
This collaborative approach ensures the system reflects real operational needs,
rather than generic templates.
Just as importantly, it builds relations with ownership among staff and strength and readiness for implementation.
And parallel to with the system integration, we're preparing staff for the transition.
The comprehensive change management plan is underway focusing on communication, readiness and support.
We will always be conducting multiple rounds of testing and data data migration.
This ensures the system works correctly and gives staff's exposure well before.
Well before, go live.
Training well, be phased in and hands on.
Ensuring people feel confident and supportive, our goal is to set everyone up for success.
In terms of timelines, the project continues to follow a phased implementation approach.
This allows us to reduce risk, maintain operational stability and test each component carefully before moving forward.
Over the coming phases, work will focus on system, configuration, multiple rounds of testing,
careful data migration and ensuring accuracy and continuity.
Training materials will continue to roll out and leadership engagement across departments,
well remain critical to readiness across the organization.
Our current target for system go live is the summer of 2027.
Before closing, the Syrian committee wants to acknowledge the work already underway.
Staff across departments contribute to significant time and expertise to workshops, process mapping, early testing.
Their involvement is what will ultimately make the system effective.
We also want to acknowledge the board's continued support and foresight in setting aside $16 million from its operating research.
While ERP modernization may not always be highly visible.
It is a critical piece of the infrastructure that enhances accountability, improves service delivery,
and positions of district for bond term sustainability.
We remain committed to transparent updates and careful responsible execution as implementation continues.
Thank you.
And we'll be happy to take any questions.
Great.
Thank you very much, Mr. Harris, appreciate that presentation that you had on that slide there.
Board support we're really proud to support this because as you mentioned,
if we can reduce some of the redundancies and repetitive tasks that go on,
we can devote more finances and resources to the students in the schools,
really what it's all about.
So thank you very much for that.
Thank you.
Superintendent Permie.
Trustee Allen.
Okay, Trustee Allen.
Thank you.
Yeah.
All I want to do is thank you and your team.
I mean, this is one hell of a undertaking.
Then we put you in a position that you had handled in $16 million.
Going down the road that none of us really had any idea where we were going.
But without that road and without that path and without your leadership and your team's leadership,
none of this would happen.
So I don't think the board, as much as you're saying, thanks to the board for support.
The board couldn't never do it without people like you.
And so when we move into the next phase, right, a modernization, which should have done 20 or
years ago, we'll know who's the fight.
So once again, as thank you to your team and very much appreciate it.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
All right.
Thank you, Trustee Allen.
Trustee Finn.
Just to echo to Trustee Allen's comment says, I want to thank you, Simon, for the work that specifically
you have done in negotiating the contract with the RP providers.
And I know we heard from Secretary Treasurer that you had to go back and forth like million times
and got us the best contract possible for the RP.
So I just want to thank you for that book.
Really appreciate it.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Okay.
Now, Superintendent.
Okay.
So I just a couple of things.
One, I'm wondering if you can just really speak about Oracle Fusion.
It's not necessarily a name that maybe one would associate with a school district in terms
of an ERP and also just their experience in terms of working in K to 12 across the country and
the scale that they also have experience in.
And then I'll come back with another comment at the end.
Okay.
Oracle Fusion is a tier one platform ERP system.
It generally is in large corporations and businesses.
It definitely is in government, local government.
In fact, city of Syria uses Oracle Fusion just to give you a perspective of that.
We are in that level where it's greater than 7,000 employees in the Bob, generally is the tier that we
that this would cater to.
In the critical key to 12 sector, I'd say that is predominantly being introduced in Canada.
We are the...
As far as I know, it was 25 school districts in Ontario.
Corporal consortium have launched an ERP process, and have set several tiers.
Oracle was the winning selection on that, which we are picking on that process.
I am aware that there exists in the states. I'm not familiar how entrenched they are in Canada, to be opening on this on that perspective.
It is a program that for Oracle Fusion, if you've done some research, they've been buying other modules from other vendors.
You may have heard Edward J.D. Edwards, for example, people saw this another acquisition that they bringing it together into one package and making it into an Oracle Fusion.
So it's actually very robust, very online, and certainly sets the stage for the school districts for its longevity.
When we embarked on this exercise, I was envisioning a five year window, I was envisioning a 25 year window of this.
So I think that this is a very good leap that we're taking.
I don't know if that addresses any questions.
And through the chair, I just want to acknowledge as well your staffs, you know, Sherry and Simon, we're asking staff to be working on an implementation of a new ERP.
Whilst also continuing to run the current ERP and expecting the workflow of the day-to-day operations we heard from Director Kang in terms of budgets.
All of that work continues while also beginning this transition and transformation into an ERP.
So you are certainly do much credit to the two of you for the exception of work that you're doing.
But can you please also pass on a huge thank you to the colleagues that you're leading in human resources, finance, procurement all the way through about their work that they're doing as we push through.
Thank you chair.
Thank you.
Great words for sure.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Appreciate that.
I'm not going to ask Trustee Wilson who is also the chair of the policy committee to give an update on the work of the both the policy committee and the board is a whole working on our policy menu.
Thank you.
And I've submitted a motion here that just recaptured some of the policy and procedures that we recently reviewed.
So I would move that the board of education received the policy and procedures updates for confirmation.
Okay, do we have a seconder.
Seconded.
Thank you.
All.
Public question of all of favor.
Opposed none.
It's been carried.
Okay.
And Mr. Chair.
I'd like to take a few moments.
To share an important update on the survey board of education's work to strengthen and modernize our.
Governance framework.
Under the BC School Act.
The Board of Education Act has a corporate party.
Making decisions collectively and carrying an important responsibility to support the improvement of student learning and achievement.
One of the ways we fulfill this responsibility is by many maintaining a strong system of governance that provides clarity, accountability and alignment with the district's strategic priorities.
Surrey already operates using a modern governance approach.
One that clearly distinguishes the board's governance role from the operational responsibilities of district administration.
However, while our practices reflect effective governance.
Many of our written policies have not kept pace with current expectations.
Some policies are outdated or inconsistent with modern governance standards.
To adjust this, the board has been undertaking a comprehensive review and modernization of our entire policy framework.
This work is aligned with broader efforts across the problems.
The BC School Trusties Association is currently leading a sector-wide initiative to support school districts in strengthening and modernizing their policy frameworks.
A major focus of our modernization work is strengthening the distinction between board policy and administrative procedure.
This separation is well recognized.
That's practice supported by both the BC, the BC, the auditor general, which emphasized that board should focus on governance, ensuring accountability, setting clear expectations and monitoring results.
Well, administrators focus on operations.
I'm pleased to report that we are now near in completion of draft versions of our new board policies.
In the coming weeks, these drafts will be shared publicly and made available for stakeholder review and input.
We expect to bring the final policies forward for board consideration and approval before the end of this current school year.
This work represents an important step in ensuring that you can use to operate with a clear transparent and modern governance framework and that supports both effective oversight and strong district leadership.
We look forward to engaging with that community as this work moves forward.
And I thank you for that time, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Trustee Wilson.
It's been lots of work.
The policy committee, of course, continue to do is there work.
I'll do there work, but of course, the entire board has been having a number of meetings in reading and writing and participating in the reviews.
Thank you very much, everybody involved in that.
So, we did that.
Thank you.
We'll move on now to the progress report on active capital projects.
And, of course, the executive director of the capital project office is Dave Riley.
Please walk us through that report.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, person.
So, as presented tonight, we are well underway on the design of the addition at Clayton Heights secondary and our aiming to get that to tender next year.
The addition at Forsyth Elementary is currently out for tender and that tender will close on April 16th.
In the package, you do have the status of all of our other projects and I'd be happy to answer any questions the board may have.
Well, and today, you've got a few.
Trustee Larson.
So, Mr. Riley, on the progress report, I noticed that walnut road is no longer listed.
It's certainly not completed.
So, how come it's not on the list?
Correct.
Our practice has been to remove projects from the list at one month following the student occupancy of the building.
So, walnut road has been occupied for several months now.
Work continues, of course, on that project as it does on many of our other projects.
Typically, we are still working on the sites for up to a year to a year and a half after student occupancy.
But the practice has been to remove them from the report one month following student occupancy.
Through the chair.
So, the last four modules are occupied now?
Yes, there.
And when might the playground in areas be fixed?
That's scheduled to happen over the summer.
So, next September.
Thank you.
Trustee Holmes.
Got a question, but a little preamble for I get there.
Just one of the point out that if one looks one way through the 170 page BC budget document, which I don't recommend for spring break reading.
Unlike the BC Asco report, one finds the capital.
The earliest capital projections.
And basically, what we're looking at is this year, the government projects to spend 131 million less than what they budgeted for.
And have dropped next year's budget by 111 million in the following by 44 million.
If one looks at the, they've got a list of projects underway.
And looks like right now they're about $2.2 billion that is committed, but not spent yet.
When one looks at the fact that over those three years, there's probably about $4.2 billion.
That's more than half of it.
It doesn't include something such as Clayton, which we just saw the stretch plans earlier tonight, which is $90 million.
That's not included there.
So I mentioned a lot of other projects are included, and those are only the projects are over $50 million.
Point being, I think that a great deal of that $4.2 million is already accounted for.
And adding to that the projection now, the budget three years from now, which would be the new year that added on, is only about just over $1 billion.
Which is substantial decrease from the 1.4 to 1.5 per year, it's been the last few years.
So definitely not rosy times coming for capital, which I think the government has signal many times.
But it really puts that I think into a stark light just what that looks like.
I guess my question to you, Mr. Riley, I'm looking at Fleetwood Park secondary.
And I know that the government made an announcement as part of the budget document that that was now moving from 2028 to 2029 for completion.
I'm wondering what you could share as far as why that, why that, what light you could share on that.
Thank you. Yes, we are still working through the design of Fleetwood Park secondary.
We have been going back and forth with the ministry on several aspects of the design and and costing reviews.
We are anticipating getting that project through the ministry approval process and out to building permit within the next few months.
But that has pushed the opportunity back into January of 2029 at this point.
Right, so I know there's a government has had to push a number of projects back.
They announced that was an intention that projects not to schools but other projects have had to push them back because of financial pressures.
I'll leave others to judge whether that's the case here or not looks like we're waiting for approval.
So I don't know whether that's just something that was unavoidable or if this is going to be slowing down if everything in general, but it's certainly not.
Not rosy times ahead and we know the government is financial position, but it's felt it's important for the public to understand when they see that big number of over $4 billion over three years.
When it hits the ground, what it actually looks like and unfortunately for us, not a whole lot coming that I don't think.
Thank you Mr. Chair.
Okay.
Trustee McMalley.
I am curious about a couple of things.
I know we haven't had any building in both projects approved.
Are you aware of any in the province that have been approved?
Through the chair, we did have I believe it was five building on block projects approved last March.
Those are working their way through the process right now.
I believe Queen Elizabeth, Bay Ridge and Hillside.
There's three projects.
I think it's those three are going for construction this summer.
And what about size.
I know we're we're we're we're pretty good shape with that respect, but have they approved any in the province.
I'm not aware of what other districts have gotten for approvals.
We do have one school left on our list.
David Brankin Elementary is in need of a seismic upgrade that's been on the board's capital priority list for many years now.
And we're still waiting approval for that project.
Thank you.
Thank you, trusty Fed.
You know my question was about Fleetwood Park.
Anyways, can you can you give any timelines on then the design will be ready?
We are anticipating the design will be complete around August or September of this year.
And then it has to go into the city for building permit.
Yeah, the first announcement for this edition was made in 2020.
That's correct.
Opening in 2020 nine so that's the time frame that we are looking.
Nine years from the announcement.
Thank you, Mr. Jeff.
Nine years.
Okay.
Thank you.
Okay.
Can we get a motion to receive that report.
Thank you, second.
Second.
All in favor.
Opposed.
Our next meeting is going to be on Wednesday 8th and with that, I'll call for adjournment.
Move to second, please.
Second.
Thank you.
All in favor.
Opposed.
Don't carry.
All right.
We will now.