Regular Board Highlights - January 18, 2022

Tuesday, January 18, 2022 - The Board of Trustees is pleased to share with all education stakeholders the highlights of our recent Board meeting on Tuesday, December 14, 2021. The adopted minutes will be available on our website following the next Regular Board meeting.

Update:

• The Board received as information the Parkland School Division Attendance Area Review. On January 12, 2021, the Board of Trustees directed administration to conduct an attendance area review of all schools in Parkland School Division (PSD) in order to facilitate long-term planning and the effective use of our school facilities. Administration engaged external consultants from Edmonton Public Schools, Infrastructure Planning to conduct the attendance review and to produce a report with recommendations. The report will be the first phase in the attendance review. The second phase will consist of public engagement on the recommendations and the third phase will be a final decision by the Board and implementation. It is anticipated that implementation of any changes in attendance areas approved by the Board would take place September, 2023. 
• The Board welcomed a virtual delegation from the Remuda Horsemanship Program. Remuda Horsemanship is an equine assisted social skill development program in which students are encouraged to develop prosocial skills through interaction with horses. Schools involved in Equestrian Outdoor learning include: Connections for Learning, Spruce Grove Composite High School, Blueberry School and Wabamun Schools.
• The Board directed administration to establish a submission deadline for schools to nominate a first-year teacher for the Alberta School Boards Association Edwin Parr Award as March 4, 2022; and subsequently named Trustees Cameron, Hennig and Wagner, as members of the Edwin Parr Selection Committee.
• The Board received as information the Quarterly Financial Report for the period ending November 30, 2021. As of November 30, 2021, revenues year to date were $34.1M and expenditures year to date were $32.3M resulting in a surplus of $1.8M. A deficit of $1.5M is currently forecast for the year ended August 31, 2022 compared to the budget of a deficit of $2.0M. The change in the forecasted deficit is primarily the result of $1.6M of COVID-19 Mitigation funding and additional weighted moving average funding offset by additional staffing and expenses due to 327 additional students over budget.
• The Board received as information the Communications Priorities Report, as presented by Director, Jordi Weidman.
• The Board received as information the Literacy Report, as presented by Division Principal, Sheryl Bridgeman.

The next Regular Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. LIVE STREAM.