School District No. 67 (Okanagan Skaha)
BOARD OF EDUCATION REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES
Monday, January 12, 2015, 6:30 P.M.
SCHOOL BOARD OFFICE
425 Jermyn Avenue
MEMBERS PRESENT
Linda Van Alphen, Chair
Bill Bidlake, Trustee
Bruce Johnson, Trustee
Shelley Clarke, Trustee
Ginny Manning, Trustee
Julie Planiden, Trustee
Barb Sheppard, Trustee
ALSO PRESENT
Wendy Hyer, Superintendent of Schools
Bonnie Roller Routley, Secretary-Treasurer
Dave Burgoyne, Assistant Superintendent
Pam Butters, Director of Instruction
Danny Francisco, Director of Information Technology
Doug Gorcak, Director of Facilities
Don MacIntyre, Director of Instruction
Maureen Maywood, Director of Finance
Daphne Adey, Executive Assistant
_____________________________________________________________________
1.
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Van Alphen called the meeting to order and acknowledged that we were on the territory of
the Okanagan First People.
2.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA
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MOTION
Duly moved and seconded
That the agenda be adopted.
CARRIED
3.
PRESENTATIONS BY SCHOOLS AND/OR STUDENTS
4.
RECEIVING OF DELEGATIONS AND GUESTS
4.1.
University of Victoria 2015 Distinguished Education Alumni Award
Superintendent Hyer introduced Anne Tenning, Principal of District Aboriginal Programs,
and the recent recipient of the University of Victoria 2015 Distinguished Education Alumni
Award. The award is presented to an individual who demonstrates distinguished service
in education. Ms. Hyer acknowledged some of the work undertaken by Ms. Tenning
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School District No. 67 (Okanagan Skaha)
Page 2
Minutes of Regular Meeting of January 12, 2015
since arriving in the district. Ms. Tenning indicated she was surprised and honoured at
the nomination and advised she was the first person to defend her thesis on indigenous
education. She commented on the shift taken by all educators who must now take at
least one course on indigenous students, unheard of years before. She acknowledged
the support of people in the district for mentoring and allowing her to step into a
leadership role.
Ms. Tenning was congratulated by trustees and extended best wishes for her speech to
be given during the presentation.
5.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS
It was noted in the minutes that Grant Mansiere, a student at Summerland Secondary School, is
in grade 9, not grade 8 as noted in the minutes.
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MOTION
Duly moved and seconded
That the minutes of the regular and inaugural meetings held on December 8,
2014 be approved as amended.
CARRIED
6.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
7.
REPORT FROM CLOSED MEETINGS
Chair Van Alphen reviewed the following items which were discussed at the closed meeting held
on December 8, 2014:




8.
Received a staffing report for both teaching and CUPE staff;
Received information on a legal matter;
Approved a property matter;
Approved a personnel contract.
CORRESPONDENCE
8.1.
Correspondence Requiring Action
a.
City of Penticton
A letter from the City of Penticton extending an invitation for representation from
the school district to participate on the City's 2014-2016 committees, in particular,
for the Heritage and Museum Committee (terms of reference attached for this
committee). The City is also seeking membership at large for other committees
and the terms of reference for all committees can be found at
www.penticton.ca/EN/main/city/committees-boards.html.
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MOTION
Duly moved and seconded
That Trustee Clarke will represent the school district on the City
of Penticton Heritage and Museum Committee.
CARRIED
“Working Together for Student Success”
School District No. 67 (Okanagan Skaha)
8.2.
Minutes of Regular Meeting of January 12, 2015
Correspondence to the Board of Education
a.
8.3.
Page 3
2014-12-19 From Artstarts
Letter from Artstarts enclosing a cheque in the amount of $8,110 from the Artists
in Education program
Correspondence Copied to the Board of Education
a.
BCSTA to Minister of Education
President Teresa Rezansoff, BCSTA, to Minister of Education regarding
concerns with government's decision on funding adult upgraders
b.
SD27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin) to Ministers of Education and Finance
Requesting that the excluded and exempt staff compensation freeze be
withdrawn
c.
SD73 (Kamloops/Thompson) to Ministers of Education and Finance
Requesting that the excluded and exempt staff compensation freeze be
withdrawn to permit boards of education across BC to return the wage balance to
the people dependent upon to lead the education system
d.
SD85 (Vancouver Island North) to Minister of Education
Expressing their board's concern with the current governance structure of
BCPSEA
e.
SD78 (Fraser-Cascade) to Ministers of Education and Finance
Regarding the excluded and exempt staff compensation freeze
f.
SD47 (Powell River) to Ministers of Education and Finance
Requesting that both ministers advocate for an appropriate level of compensation
for its management and administrative staff and asking that funding guidelines
allow boards the flexibility and freedom in decision-making as to how the
compensation will be distributed
g.
SD73 (Kamloops/Thompson) to Public Sector Employers' Council
In response to the Minister's letter regarding the negative effects of the school
district management compensation freeze and urging government to reconsider
this policy and find a way to justly compensate the people responsible for the
smooth operation of schools, districts, and administration
h.
SD52 (Prince Rupert) to Minister of Education
Requesting that the 20% of the September strike savings remain in school
districts
i.
SD52 (Prince Rupert) to Minister of Education
Expressing support for the five recommendations for the K-12 Education Sector
and one recommendation for community literacy work which were put forth by the
Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services
“Working Together for Student Success”
School District No. 67 (Okanagan Skaha)
8.4.
Page 4
j.
SD82 (Coast Mountains) to Ministers of Education and Finance
Regarding the management and exempt staff compensation freeze
k.
Fraser Valley Branch of BCSTA to Board of Directors of BCSTA
Regarding the selection of deputy chairs and readers for the BCSTA AGM
l.
SD62 (Greater Victoria) to Ministry of Finance
Requesting that the Minister of Finance heed the recommendations for the First
Report of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services
and increase the funding to K-12 education in the 2015 budget
Correspondence on Behalf of the Board of Education
a.
2014-12-12 to City of Penticton
Extending congratulations to mayor and council on being elected during the
recent local government elections
b.
2014-12-12 to District of Summerland
Extending congratulations to mayor and council on being elected during the
recent local government elections
c.
2014-12-12 to Board of Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen
Extending congratulations to chair and directors on being elected during the
recent local government elections
9.
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
10.
REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
10.1.
Minutes of Regular Meeting of January 12, 2015
Field Trips
Pursuant to district policy, the director of instruction reviewed a listing of field trip requests
provided in the agenda package.
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MOTION
Duly moved and seconded
That the field trip request for May 6 to 9, 2015 for 50 KVR Middle School
grade 8 band students to travel to Edmonton, Alberta, for a spring band
tour be approved in principle.
CARRIED
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MOTION
Duly moved and seconded
That the field trip request for March 14 to 25, 2015 for approximately 50
students from Penticton Secondary, Princess Margaret Secondary, and
Summerland Secondary Schools to travel to Rome, Florence, the
Riviera, and Paris to experience and learn about those countries and
cultures be given final approval.
CARRIED
“Working Together for Student Success”
School District No. 67 (Okanagan Skaha)
10.2.
11.
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Minutes of Regular Meeting of January 12, 2015
Enrolment
The superintendent of schools reported on enrolment as of December 31, 2014, noting
there are 5,849 students in the school district, a decline of 24 students from the previous
month.
REPORT OF SECRETARY-TREASURER
11.1.
Financial Report
The secretary-treasurer reviewed that, as per Policy No. 600, the financial report to
November 30, 2014 was provided in the agenda package. This report will come to a
committee meeting in the future. Ms. Roller Routley noted that the revenue of nearly
$1.5 million for strike savings has not yet been removed from the budget nor has the
nearly $1 million for teacher salary negotiations been added. It was also noted that TTOC
costs are higher than expected due mainly to the change in teacher costs. All other
figures are close to budget for this time of the year. Ms. Roller Routley added that there
may be a $1.1 million surplus, all of which are believed to be restricted funds.
11.2.
Policy No. 130 – Board Standing Committees
The secretary-treasurer explained that with the approval of Policy No. 120 – Board of
Education Committees and Liaisons at the last meeting to now include board standing
committees, Policy No. 130 – Board Standing Committees should be deleted.
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MOTION
Duly moved and seconded
That Policy No. 130 – Board Standing Committees be deleted.
CARRIED
12.
NEW BUSINESS
12.1.
Committee/Representative/Trustee Liaison Appointments
Chair Van Alphen presented committee and representative appointments as well as
trustee school liaisons for the period January 2015 to December 2015.
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12.2.
MOTION
Duly moved and seconded
That the committee/representative appointments and trustee school
liaisons for the period January 2015 to December 2015 be confirmed.
CARRIED
City of Penticton Electrical Rates
The secretary-treasurer advised there has been ongoing concern over the past few years
for the cost of electrical rates charged to the school district. The district was notified
through the newspapers that there are three proposed options for electrical rate
increases in 2015. The school district received no response to previous comments made
to the city regarding previous rate increases and questioned if the Board would like to set
up a meeting with mayor and council to discuss these electrical rates. The school district
pays more for utilities than any other district of similar size in BC and the rate change in
2012-13 and 2013-14 attributed to an increase of $140,000. The district is projecting
another increase of $120,000 this year and this does not include the increase of 4.5%. It
“Working Together for Student Success”
School District No. 67 (Okanagan Skaha)
Page 6
Minutes of Regular Meeting of January 12, 2015
was noted that when the district approached Summerland council regarding its projected
increase in electrical rates, the rates were frozen for the district.
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12.3.
Committees of the Whole Calendar
Approval of the proposed committee of the whole meeting dates to June 15, 2015 was
requested. It was noted that the February 10 education school visitation to West Bench
Elementary should be February 3. These dates are scheduled for once a month two
weeks prior to the board of education meeting and are scheduled for 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. It
was noted that trustees who are unable to make the meetings may use phone or Skype
as another means of participating in the meeting. Proposed committee meeting dates
are as follows:


Business Committee Meetings
January 27, February 24, March 31, April 28, and May 26
Education Committee Meetings
January 28, February 3 to West Bench Elementary, February 25, April 1, April 7
to McNicoll Park Middle School, April 29, and May 27.
2015-85
13.
MOTION
Duly moved and seconded
That a letter be sent to the City of Penticton requesting a meeting with
council prior to the city's budget adoption and listing electrical rates as
one of the agenda topics.
CARRIED
MOTION
Duly moved and seconded
That the committee meeting dates to June 30, 2015 be approved as
presented.
CARRIED
REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES
13.1.
BCSTA Provincial Council Meeting
The deadline for the BCSTA to receive motions for the February 20/21, 2015 is January
16, 2015. Nominations are currently open for a by-election of an officer to the BCSTA
Board of Directors to be elected at the same provincial council meeting. It was noted that
Trustee Clarke will attend.
13.2.
BCSTA Thompson Okanagan Branch Meeting
At the BCSTA Thompson Okanagan Branch meeting held on December 6, discussion
was held regarding developing a vision statement for the branch. In preparation for the
February meeting, boards are being requested to respond to a series of questions by
January 31, 2015. Following discussion, trustees agreed to provide their thoughts to
Chair Van Alphen who will collate the responses for a district response.
13.3.
BCPSEA AGM21
The 21st Annual General Meeting of the British Columbia Public School Employers'
Association is scheduled for January 30, 2015 at the Hilton Vancouver Airport Hotel in
Richmond. Trustees Sheppard, Planiden, and Manning will attend the New Trustees
“Working Together for Student Success”
School District No. 67 (Okanagan Skaha)
Page 7
Minutes of Regular Meeting of January 12, 2015
Orientation provided by BCPSEA and Trustees Planiden and Manning will attend the
AGM.
13.4.
14.
Trustee Comments
Trustees provided comments related to district activities including attendance at and work
achieved to date at a meeting of the Youth Esteem Strategy (YES), a committee striving
to improve youth esteem in Penticton; comments on and appreciation for teachers,
parents, and others who assisted with Christmas and winter concerts; information
provided by trustees related to contact with their parent advisory councils; concern about
procedures on the snow day last week (these procedures will be reviewed at the
upcoming business committee meeting); and an upcoming presentation on cybersafety at
Summerland Middle School on January 14.
INFORMATION ITEMS
14.1.
Recognition of Student Success
School District No. 67 (Okanagan Skaha) extended congratulations to the students and
groups for outstanding examples of success as shown on the listing circulated with the
agenda package.
14.2.
Date of Next Meeting
 February 2, 2015, 6:30 p.m., Regular Board of Education Meeting, School Board
Office
15.
QUESTION PERIOD
Questions/comments from the audience included clarification on the freeze on management
salaries and the proposed increase in electrical rates.
16.
ADJOURNMENT
2015-86
MOTION
Duly moved and seconded
That the meeting be adjourned.
CARRIED
___________________________________
Linda Van Alphen, Chairperson
______________________________________
Bonnie Roller Routley, Secretary-Treasurer
January 19, 2015
Ref: http://escribe.sd67.bc.ca/Board of Education_Jan12_2015/eSCRIBE Documents/Post-Meeting Minutes - Board of Education_Jan12_2015 - English.docx
“Working Together for Student Success”