Board Meeting Highlights - September 13, 2022

event Published 2022-09-14 16:50:00.986 +0000 UTC

2022-2023 Organizational Meeting - Election of the Board Chair and Vice-Chair

Every fall the board of trustees elects the board chair, vice-chair and other key positions for the new school year. In addition to their regular duties, trustees are elected to serve as primary representatives on provincial associations and boards. The following trustees will act as representatives in those roles during the 2022-2023 year:

✔️ Cathy Hogg, Board Chair

✔️ Lois Bedwell, Vice-Chair

✔️ Representative for the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) - Shawna VanderSpruit

✔️ ASBA Alternate - Nancy Haraga

✔️ Representative for the Public School Boards Association (PSBA) - Pam Cursons

✔️ PSBAA Alternate - Patty Rooks

✔️ Teachers Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) - Pam Cursons

✔️ Representative on the Alberta Rural Caucus - Patty Rooks

Governance Process #14 Trustee Honorarium

✔️ Board motion passed: Policy GP #14 Trustee Honorarium & Expense Reimbursement was adjusted to provide financial compensation when trustee work and travel outside of the school division (occuring on the same day) exceeds 8 hours per day. Trustees will make $24.19 for each additional hour worked.

2022-2023 Enrolment Update

Chief Financial Officer Ryan Boser presented the 2022-2023 School Enrolment update for information. In the spring, Prairie Rose had projected an increase of 9.5 FTE (full-time equivalent) students compared to the 2021-2022 school year. Based on early September counts, the division has recorded an increase of 37.0 FTE students over spring projections. In comparison to the 2021-2022 year, PRPS is up 46.5 FTE students which is an enrolment increase of 1.57%. It was noted that many of the unique programs implemented by Prairie Rose such as the South Alberta Hockey and Flight academies, a rodeo academy in Foremost and the Irvine Agricultural Discovery Centre have contributed to the enrolment gains. A new international student program has also brought in up to eight additional students this year.

Policy Review Committee

✔️ The board approved the changes/removal of the following policies as presented/amended:

  • Update E#1 Mission
  • Update E#2 Vision
  • Update E#3 Six Core Principles
  • Update E#4 Strategic Goals
  • Delete E#5 Essential Virtues
  • Re-number and update E #5 Lens for Decision-Making
  • Delete E#6 Key Learning Principles

Transportation/Bussing

Trustee Lois Bedwell shared that the board had recently met with the Minister of Education to discuss challenges associated with the bus driver shortages. It was noted that primary concerns stem from increased ride times and bus consistency for families. While PRPS continues to try and be creative to find solutions, increased insurance rates and training times for the MELT and S-Endorsement driver requirements continue to hinder the process for finding and replacing drivers in a timely manner.