The Flin Flon school board will weigh the merits of accepting anonymous bullying complaints online.
At Tuesday’s board meeting, The Reminder asked trustees whether they would offer students the option of anonymous reporting.
That opportunity is already available to Creighton Community School students, who can log onto the school’s website and provide information on bullying or other inappropriate behaviours without identifying themselves.
Trustee Murray Skeavington said the Flin Flon School Division does not offer that option, but he agreed it might be helpful and would be considered.
Superintendent Constance McLeese said she could bring the concept up at a meeting of school administrators.
McLeese said allowing anonymous complaints could make it difficult to address specific concerns, however, if the identities of those involved are not known.
Creighton Community School lets students report concerns such as bullying, drugs and vandalism through the Anonymous Tip Line on its website.
Students can leave contact information if they choose, but it is not required. Students who visit the tip line are thanked for “your help in keeping our school safe.”
Chairman
Skeavington will serve as board chairman for an eighth time after being acclaimed to the position.
Trustee Leslie Fernandes was acclaimed as vice-chairwoman, marking her first time in a chair position since joining the board in 2014.
Division secretary-treasurer Heather Fleming oversaw elections for both one-year positions. When she called for nominations other than Skeavington and Fernandes, no names were put forth.
At the end of this school year, Skeavington will have spent more than half of his 15 years on the board as chairman. He once held the position for three consecutive years. He was chairman last year.
Attendance
McLeese and Skeavington provided context around a report showing the
Flin Flon School Division had a lower student attendance rate than the provincial average last year.
The board reviewed a government-issued report that noted the division had an average attendance rate of 88.5 per cent in
2015-16. The was 5.5 percentage points lower than the provincial rate of 94 per cent.
McLeese was unconcerned by the figures, noting the stats were not pro-rated to take into account how alternative high school Many Faces Education Centre is structured.
She said Many Faces students may only attend class for two months of the year depending on which courses they are taking. The report put the weighted attendance rate of Many Faces at 40.8 per cent.
Each of the three other Flin Flon schools – Hapnot Collegiate (90 per cent), Ruth Betts Community School (92.9 per cent) and École McIsaac School (93.8 per cent) – also had attendance rates below the provincial average.
McLeese mentioned transient families as a relevant factor, while Skeavington said the rates do not take into account students who miss class because they are on school- or sports-related trips.
The report also spoke to the level of student transiency within the division. Last year saw 48 students transfer into Flin Flon schools and 97 students transfer out. As of Sept. 30, 2015, there were 995 students across the division.
Based on student arrivals and departures, the report gave the division an “estimated mobility index” of 14.6 – more than double the Manitoba average of about 6.
Spending
Trustees voted to draw $20,593 out of surplus to increase the budget for a cabling project at Hapnot.
Another vote saw the board carry forward $68,741 from last year’s budget that had been allotted for the Technical Vocational Institute beside Hapnot.
The board further voted to draw $1,000 from surplus to help the Citizens On Patrol Program (COPP) bring a portable speed-monitoring sign to the community.
Committees
Trustees tentatively set their subcommittees and joint committees for 2016-17.
As per past practice, all trustees will sit on the finance, policy review / resolutions, strategic planning, and facilities and grounds committees.
Trustees Skeavington, Fernandes and Angela Simpson will sit on the Manitoba Teachers’ Society negotiations / liaison committee. Skeavington and Simpson will join Trustee Amy Sapergia Green on the United Steelworkers negotiations / liaison committee.
Trustees Fernandes and Sapergia Green will sit on the ad hoc committee that ensures compliance with building-accessibility laws.
Simpson will represent the board on the local Canada 150th birthday celebrations committee, with Trustee Andy Burbidge to serve on the city’s traffic commission.
Burbidge will also be on the division’s technology and suspension committees. Trustee Trish Sattelberger is on the bursaries / scholarships committee, with Trustee Tim Davis on the workplace safety and health committee.
The committees are expected to be given final approval at the Sept. 27 board meeting.
Contracts
Trustees voted to place 14 certified teachers on substitute-teacher agreements: Elaine Angelski, Sharon Beck, Betty Bortis, Holly Bryson, Arlene Collins, Gerry Clark, Cynthia Davey, Pat Hall, Susan Lindsay, Caroline Loat, Cynthia Minter, Darlene Myden, Susan Power and Pam Ryan.
Six non-certified teachers were placed on substitute-teacher agreements pending their successful application for teaching permits: Ray Biberdorf, Linda Clark, Florence Day, Stefanie Didychuk, Brenda Gira and Paula LeClair.
