Board News: Tuesday, September 29, 2015

September 30, 2015

Presentation: New District Website Launch

Communications Manager Ken Hoff outlined some features of the new District ‘multi-site’ configuration of the website. The ‘multi-site’ configuration will turn the District website into a powerful communications tool once all the schools are on board as messages can be ‘pushed’ to individual school sites or school groups from a central dashboard on the main District site. This will be especially helpful for regional or district-wide communication like in the event of a weather warning or school closures. Work on the project continues with the addition of new school sites occurring over the Fall.

Presentation: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Langley

Rosalyn Henderson, the Mentoring Coordinator for Langley, presented to the Board of Education to share some of the successes in the community and highlight programs that are featured in the District. Big Brothers Big Sisters has been in the community for 41 years and served 323 kids in 2014 alone. The District-wide partnership agreement between the School District and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Langley has allowed the program to work more actively in the District. Big Brothers Big Sisters operates in 18 District schools.

Superintendent’s Report: Strategic Plan 2015-2019

Superintendent of Schools Suzanne Hoffman presented the Strategic Plan 2015-2019 to the Board of Education. The four-year Strategic Plan will be upheld by the Board and outlines broad goals and steps that will be implemented to reach those goals. Superintendent Hoffman reported to the Board, “The new Strategic Plan will not only serve students, staff and the community well but fully aligns with the District’s vision statement”. The Strategic Plan 2015-2019 has been presented in an interactive format along with an overview summary that may be viewed here.

Superintendent’s Report: Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement

Superintendent Hoffman introduced Micheal Morgan, District Principal of Aboriginal Education to provide context and an introduction to the new Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement. “We have received a tremendous amount of wisdom and guidance from our Aboriginal community”, said Michael Morgan, District Principal of Aboriginal Education, “a great many people have put a part of themselves into the creation of this important agreement. Next we must turn those beautiful words into meaningful actions for our students”. Representing the Aboriginal community, Donna Robbins and Cheryl Gabriel formally invited the Board to attend the signing ceremony taking place October 8th at the Kwantlen Cultural Centre.

Superintendent’s Report: New Curriculum Implementation

Assistant Superintendent Gordon Stewart provided some background and an overview of the BC’s New Curriculum and how it will be implemented in the Langley School District. Information on the new curriculum and how it will be implemented in Langley is provided online in a special section for parents. Information related to specific components of the new curriculum will be shared with the Board of Education at its meetings throughout the course of the 2015-2016 school year in future Superintendent’s Reports.

Secretary Treasurer’s Report: Capital Project Bylaw No. 126169

The Board of Education passed all three readings of the Capital Project Bylaw No. 126169 North Otter Elementary–Building Envelope program. The Capital Project bylaw  addresses a situation at North Otter Elementary, recognized by the Ministry of Education, that many schools in the province were experiencing issues with the exterior building finishes which allowed for moisture to penetrate behind the building exterior surfaces into closed spaces causing various problems. With the passing of the bylaw, funding may be released by the Ministry of Educaiton and work may now commence on the project.

Secretary Treasurer’s Report: Bank of Montreal Mastercard Facility Credit Limit Increase Bylaw No. 2015

The Board of Education passed all three readings of the Bank of Montreal Mastercard Facility Credit Limit Increase Bylaw No. 2015. Bylaw No. 2015 references the increased use of purchasing cards in the District which results in savings via rebates from Mastercard and decreases in staff needed to process purchases via purchase orders, etc. The current District limit on credit card purchases is $600,000 but with the increased use of purchasing cards and the large volume of purchases, it was requested by District staff that the Board pass this bylaw to increase the limit to $1,000,000.

Secretary Treasurer’s Report: Employment Practices Liability Program

Secretary Treasurer David Green outlined the Employment Practices Liability Program which is a Shared Services initiative of the Ministry of Education, the School Protection Program and BCPSEA. The program is designed to reduce legal expenses school districts incur in dealing with labour grievance and arbitration matters, as well as employment practices wrongful acts and exempt employee litigation matters. The program was effective July 1, 2015 for the September 2015 start of the school year.

Committee Reports: Audit Committee

• Audited Financial Statements 2014-2105–The Board of Education approved the 2014-2015 Audited Financial Statements and recommended that staff submit them to the Ministry of Education.
• Surplus Restrictions–The Board of Education approved an internally restricted surplus of $2,165,497 for school generated funds become part of the operating surplus due to PSAB, as described in note 14 of the 2014-2015 Audited Financial Statements.
• Interfund Transfers–The Board of Education approved the transfer of $41,327 from the special purpose fund to the capital fund and transfer of $1,260,752 from the operating fund to the capital fund as described in note 15 of the 2014-2015 Audited Financial Statements.

Committee Reports: Strategic Plan Committee

Assistant Superintendent Claire Guy provided a summary of the changes being recommended to Policy No. 5084 – Application to Enter Alternate Programs (Admission to Choice Programs) under the current Notice of Motion that will be addressed by the Board at the December Regular Meeting. Ms Guy also directed the Board to a newly posted ‘Frequently Asked Questions‘ document that will assist District parents in understanding the proposed changes.