Both new and veteran trustees at the Vernon School District are looking ahead to the future.
Board chairperson Kelly Smith said trustees are committed to a positive and co-operative relationship with teachers after last year’s labour challenges.
The new term began with trustees making a tour of district schools.
“We hope to have visited every school by the end of January,” said Smith, who was re-elected to the board in November and sworn in as chairperson in December. “Every trustee attends PAC meetings and we all look forward to receiving many invitations to visit schools and classrooms when opportunities arise.
“The board values the outstanding work of our teachers, administrators and support staff. We look forward to working together to ensure the success of all of our students.”
Smith said the district budget process is now under way, with projected student numbers established as of Feb. 15, when the registration and transfer process is completed. That information is then sent to the Ministry of Education, which will announce funding in mid-March, with funding based on the number of students in the district.
“The work on the budget will be ongoing, with the final documents submitted to the ministry at the end of April,” she said. “Our funding will be impacted in a positive way because our student enrolment did increase by 106 students in the fall.”
Recommendations of the Report on the Budget 2015 Consultation published in November 2014 by the Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services (BC Ministry of Finance) included specific recommendations for kindergarten to Grade 12.
“These recommendations covered items such as the provision of stable funding, support for new K to 12 initiatives and the provision of resources for students with special needs and minimal English language skills.
“These recommendations will provide us with some direction when dealing with funding shortfalls. The BC School Trustees Association also provides us with an opportunity to be part of a much larger lobby group.”
While questions have arisen over the years about the board presenting a needs budget to the government instead of a balanced budget, Smith said presenting a needs budget means trustees risk being replaced by a public administrator.
“This person will probably have no knowledge of the unique needs of the community, the budget becomes the focus and it must be balanced,” said Smith. “This board would like to have an opportunity to be involved in a process of improving the funding formula. The current method of funding per student does not take in to account the real costs of running our schools.
“Even if some classrooms are empty due to a decrease in enrolment, the buildings still need to be maintained.”
Currently, there are no plans to close any schools in the district, said Smith, adding that there is a long process that must be followed in order to close a school.
“If we had intended to close one of our schools, we would have had to have begun the process well over a year ago in order to ensure that the community was informed and involved in the process.”
The inadequacies of the current school district administration office have been a topic of discussion over the past year, with plans in the works to begin renovations.
“There are capital funds that are earmarked for addressing the inadequacies of the current administration office. These funds can only be spent on capital projects and cannot be transferred to operating funds. The planning for the needed changes will begin during the coming year.”
And finally, improving the graduation rates of aboriginal students is at the top of the district’s wish list.
“We currently have two very qualified leaders working toward our first Enhancement Agreement. This agreement will focus on learning for all of our aboriginal students.
“So far over 1,000 people have been involved in the process and we hope to have our first Enhancement Agreement before the end of this school year.”
