The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
FLIN FLON SCHOOL DIVISION Condensed Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees held October 26, 2004 in the Board Room of the Division Office, 9 Terrace Avenue, Flin Flon, Manitoba. University College of the North - The Board of Trustees agreed to support the University College of the North in their proposed initiatives to provide joint programs through a sharing of staff and facilities, subject to availability. BUSINESS ARISING Manitoba Teachers' Society Liaison Meeting - Confirmed for Tuesday, November 16th at 7 p.m. Crosswalk/Stop Sign Request - Correspondence has been forwarded to the City of Flin Flon re: student safety at Pine/Princess and Many Faces. This item was to be presented at regular Council meeting on October 19th, but Mr. Fancy indicated that the request would probably be referred either to the Engineering Department or Traffic Commission. Following the regular Council meeting it was reported in The Reminder that a crosswalk will not be placed by Many Faces as it is too close to the existing crosswalk at Center Street. No written response from the City of Flin Flon has been received. Election At Large - Correspondence from the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Trade, and Peter Bjornson, Minister of Education, Citizenship and Youth responding to the letter from Superintendent Veitch reiterating the view of the Board of Trustees that an "at large" electoral system would better suit the needs of the community of Flin Flon. Trustee Wilson commented that the Minister of Education missed the whole point of what the Board was asking for. The Trustees were requesting that Flin Flon receive an exemption (grandfather clause) to the ward system, and were not requesting a change for the entire province. The Minister of Education, Citizenship and Youth has made it clear that there will be no change to the School Board election process. ACTION CORRESPONDENCE Bill 13 Consultation Sessions - Correspondence dated October 13, 2004 from Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth - School Programs Division re: planned Regional Consultation Sessions related to Bill 13 - Appropriate Educational Programming was reviewed and referred to the Superintendent, with interested Trustees asked to contact Superintendent Veitch if they wish to attend.. Student Council Meeting Dates - The Trustees suggested two dates for the Hapnot/Many Faces Student Council dinner meeting - Monday, November 8th or Wednesday, November 10th - 5:00 p.m. in the Hapnot Cafeteria. The Elementary Student Council dinner meeting will be scheduled in the new year. ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORTS The Superintendent and Secretary-Treasurer reported to the Board on the following divisional matters: 20th Anniversary French Immersion - This year marks the twenty year anniversary of French Immersion has been offered in Flin Flon. Students enjoyed 'Journee d'Accueil' (Welcome Back Day) on October 1st to celebrate this historic event. French Immersion staff have exciting activities planned throughout the year. Pre-school parents are encouraged to contact the school for more information and to visit the school to learn more about the benefits of learning Canada's other official language. Take Our Kids To Work - Senior 1 students from Hapnot and Many Faces will take part in the National Career Week program on November 3rd. This program offers students the opportunity to have a better understanding of the demands and opportunities of the workplace, view their parents and community members in different roles, and to emphasize that education goes beyond the classroom. Thank you to all the parents and workplaces in our community that make this possible. National Library Day - National Library Day was October 25th. Superintendent Veitch noted that we are very fortunate to have great library staff, facilities and materials within our community. Special Area Group Conference - October 21st and 22nd were professional development days for staff across the Division. Approximately 35 staff attended SAG sessions in Winnipeg and Brandon. The remaining staff attended local sessions that included Virtues, Technology, Literacy, First Aid/CPR, and Behavioural Strategies. Superintendent Veitch thanked Dean Grove, Administrative PD Rep and Shari Anderson, Teacher PD Rep for co-ordinating the local session. School News - Hapnot Parent/Teacher interviews took place on Thursday, October 28th. Student report cards were sent home on the 20th. Hapnot Collegiate hosted a 'Haunted House' on Saturday, October 30th. Parents and children of the community were invited to check out the activities planned by the Student Council. The French students and Student Council members raised over $2,300 through the magazine campaign. Thank you to the community members that supported this project. Student curlers had the opportunity to sign up for a weekend session with Guy Hemming. Thank you to Debbie McNeill for offering this to our students. Many Faces Education Center hosted an open house and chili supper on October 19th. Parents and students had the opportunity to meet the staff and learn more about school programs and activities. Over 89% of the Ruth Betts students (and 34 parents) participated in the International Walk to School Day. Provincial Consultations - The Department of Education will be hosting two consultation sessions and the Division will have a team attending. Interested Trustees, parents and community members were asked to contact Superintendent Veitch if they would like to attend. The sessions are: 1) Changes to Provincial Assessments in Grade 6 and Senior 1 - Division Meeting - November 5th at Noon; Regional Consultation - November 15th - Cranberry Portage; and 2) Developing regulations for Appropriate Education Legislation - Divisional meeting to be determined - Regional Consultation - November 30th - Cranberry Portage. Community Meeting - The fall meeting was held on Wednesday, November 3rd at 7:00 p.m. in the McIsaac School Ecole McIsaac gymnasium. Information on the possible solutions to declining enrollments was shared. Staff, students and community members were encouraged to attend. Pay Accounts - The Division accounts as at October 20, 2004 in the amount of $156,848.01, inclusive of cheque numbers 490 through 597, net of cancelled cheque number 471 valued at $535.00, were paid. Audited Financial Statements - 2003/04 - The audit of the Division financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2004, was carried out by Kendall, Wall and Pandya in September of 2004 with final statements completed in early October. A copy of the financial statements and notes signed by the auditor were circulated for information. Mr. Dave Kendall of Kendall, Wall and Pandya was present and provided clarification regarding the Division's surplus. Mr. Kendall explained that the discrepancy dated back to 1989/1990 and resulted from a timing issue when the Division switched from a calendar year to a June 30th year end. The Board of Trustees approved the audited financial statements as presented; a copy will be forwarded to the Public Schools Finance Branch prior to the deadline of October 31, 2004. REPORTS Workplace Safety & Health Committee - Trustee Mitchell reviewed the minutes of the October 6th meeting. Trustee Wilson requested clarification on the status of the Engineer's report for the McIsaac foundation. Superintendent Veitch advised that an Engineer from the Public Schools Finance Branch inspected this area of McIsaac over a year ago and determined the building to be structurally sound. PSFB indicated at that time they were not in a position to repair, but ensured the Division that the building is secure and safe. Clerical Professional Development Meeting - Trustee Simpson reviewed the minutes of the October 18th meeting. Facilities & Grounds Committee - Trustee Davis reviewed the minutes of the October 19th meeting. MAST Special Meeting - October 23, 2004 - Trustee Wilson expressed his disappointment with the meeting which was attended by over 150 Trustees and Administrators. The morning session focused on the financial report prepared by AMM and MAST with regards to the portion of funding from property taxes which is used for education. These two organizations would like to see the cost sharing go back to what it was approximately 20 years ago - 80 / 20 split vs the 57 / 43 split that now occurs (with the first number being the Provincial Government contribution and the second number the percentage funded by the public in the communities by way of property taxes). The suggested way to allow for this to occur was to increase the provincial sales tax by 1%. Gary Doer has responded that this will not happen. Although there was a lot of discussion at the session, there were no conclusions reach and no new information shared. The afternoon session focused on Collective Bargaining and whether or not School Division's felt going to a new financing mode (80/20) would change the bargaining structure and how we deal with staff, ie) provincial bargaining or local level bargaining. In effect we have provincial bargaining as Division's have no choice but to follow what other Division's have done as far as salaries. A number of different opinions were shared by the group, discussion followed and once again there was no consensus and very little new information. CHAIR'S REPORT Congratulations - Chair Skeavington expressed congratulations on behalf of the Board to the past and present French Immersion staff and students on 20 years with the Flin Flon School Division. A welcome was extended to former students to contact Principal Jacques Labelle or Vice-Principal Sharon Trubiak if they are interested in planned events. Congratulations to the Junior Varsity Cross Country Team who placed 9th in the provincial competitions. Best of luck to the Senior Varsity Volleyball Teams who will be playing in Cranberry Portage on the weekend and the Junior Varsity Volleyball Teams who will travel to Thompson. Community Meeting - Chair Skeavington noted that it is critical that the Division get as much information as possible from the people of Flin Flon re: declining enrollment and their views on how things should proceed in the future. School Board meetings are held the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Division Office Board Room located at 9 Terrace Avenue. The next regular meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 23, 2004. Board of Trustees: Murray Skeavington-Chair; Colleen McKee-Vice-Chair; Trustees: Tim Davis, Donna Ferguson, Gordon Mitchell, Angela Simpson, Jim Wilson.
