Regular Board Meeting Highlights - November 28, 2023

Tuesday, November 28, 2023 - The Board of Trustees is pleased to share with all education stakeholders the highlights of our recent Board meeting held on Tuesday, October 28, 2023. The adopted minutes will be available on our website following the next Regular Board meeting. 

• The Board welcomed students and staff from Graminia School, who shared a presentation on the growth of the Graminia Concert Band. Members of the band also assembled to perform three songs for the board. 
• The Superintendent Report talked about the progress on construction at École Broxton Park School. In mid-November, five modular classrooms were installed on the site. The Connections for Learning students from both the Spruce Grove and Stony Plain campuses are scheduled to move to that site in January 2024. 
• The Superintendent Report also touched on the Building Advisory Program, which will be at École Broxton Park School and Memorial Composite High School. This is the next evolution of building management systems and will gather data generated at the school sites, analyze it and reports are generated around actionable items in three categories: potential energy savings, comfort level of occupants and maintenance priorities. PSD is one of the first educational organizations in the country to pilot this program and it will be worked on over the next couple of years. 
• The Board approved the Parkland School Division Audited Financial Statements for the year ending August 31, 2023 as recommended by the audit committee. 
• The independent auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP provided an unqualified report. The statements presented fairly, in all material aspects, the financial positions of Parkland School Division. PSD ended the fiscal year with an operating deficit of $1,247,268. Revenue for the year was $148,269,240 and operating expenses were $149,516,508.
• The Board approved the 2022-2023 Annual Education Results Report (AERR). Each year, the AERR is developed in consideration of the following:

• Stakeholder feedback received through a variety of stakeholder engagements;
• Assurance Measures received through the Provincial Assurance Report and subsequent information provided by the Province;
• Feedback from the Board of Trustees, Senior Administration, Lead Team, and Council of School Councils; and
• Capital Plan information and financial information.

The Annual Education Results Report together with the Education Plan serve as the key planning and accountability tools used in sharing information about the Division with stakeholders. This is the results report for the 2022-2025 Education Plan, and the report includes significant stakeholder feedback embedded throughout the document.

You can read the full report at 2022-2023 Annual Education Results Report (https://www.psd.ca/download/432932)

• The Board received as information a fall financial forecast based on the September enrolments. The Division updates revenue projections, staffing and other expenses based on these actual enrolments to provide sites with an updated operating plan based on their revised allocations. The forecast shows revenues are $153,556,315, which is a decrease of 0.3 per cent from the budget. The report showed the decrease in revenues and expenses are due to adjusting the revenues as a result of the decrease in enrolments from budget and adjusting expenditures to align with the updated revenue projections. The decrease was partially offset by new grants and revenues and the related expenditures. PSD forecasts a deficit of $500,136, compared to a deficit of $483,401 in the budget. The increase is due to increases in amortization of the asset retirement obligations assets and does not impact operating reserves. 
• The Board received as information, the Community Partnerships Report as presented by Associate Superintendent, Dr. Meg Miskolzie. The report described the Division’s work of building healthy and sustainable relationships with partners in the region. The partnerships are used to enhance a teacher’s ability to deliver the Alberta Program of Studies as well as to ensure that children and youth experience success and well-being inside and outside of Parkland School Division schools. 

The next regular board meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 9 a.m.