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Highlights of the March 2014 board meeting

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release
March 26, 2014

GUELPH, Ontario — The March meeting of the Upper Grand District School Board was held on Tuesday, March 25. The following provides highlights from the meeting.

Opening Reading – The Fate of Mankind

Grade 8 student Akash J. of John Galt PS presented the opening reading on behalf of Trustee Linda Busuttil. Akash’s speech was titled “The Fate of Mankind”. Trustee Busuttil heard him speak when she was one of the judges at John Galt’s public speaking contest. In just under five minutes Akash provided inspiring words on how if we all work together, and not conduct war in any form, we will help mankind and the world to survive. Akash is entering Grade 9 at Guelph Collegiate in the pre-International Baccalaureate program in September. He also designed the logo for Education Week, which will be launched with an opening ceremony hosted by John Galt PS on Monday May 5, 2014.

Trustees appointed the Learning Choices Committee

Three trustees, one each representing the regions of the Board, were appointed to the Learning Choices Committee. Trustees Busuttil (Guelph), Schieck (County of Wellington) and Topping (Dufferin County) will join staff to establish guidelines for any alternative education programs/schools that may be suggested by the community or staff.

School Year Calendar

The Board approved the school year calendar for the 2014-2015 year, and will send it to the Ministry for approval. The calendar was reviewed by a group of stakeholders including parents, all union bargaining units, elementary and secondary principals, the lead superintendent of education, and the communications officer. It is identical to the Wellington Catholic board’s calendar with one exception regarding Professional Activity (PA) days for secondary schools during the exam periods. This will have little effect on the joint transportation system. The draft calendars will be posted on the board’s website and sent to all schools. 

Wellington North Elementary Accommodation Review

The Board approved Report #1 of the Wellington North Elementary Accommodation Review, which will commence in April 2014. The review will include Kenilworth, Victoria Cross (formerly Mount Forest) and Arthur public schools. In 2003, after the last Wellington North Accommodation Review concluded, the boundaries for Kenilworth PS were expanded. In addition, the board passed a motion that if the enrolment at Kenilworth dropped below 120 full time equivalent (FTE) students for two consecutive years, the board would close Kenilworth and reassign the students to either Arthur or Victoria Cross public schools.

While the enrolment trigger has been met, other factors that prevented the board from proceeding included a Ministry moratorium on schools closings and a resulting change to the Province’s Accommodation Review Guidelines.

The implementation of Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) and the associated capital renewal expenditures required at Kenilworth prompted the issue of determining the future of the school. FDK will be implemented at Kenilworth in September 2014. 

Due to FDK and other required capital improvements, the review’s recommendations will be implemented in September 2015, not at year later as is customary. This will allow the board to meet the staffing process timelines and proceed with the renovations and capital improvements if the school should stay open, or to close it and not spend the money required. Contingency plans for housing all students at Kenilworth in September 2014 during the review are being prepared.

An Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) will be established, public meetings will be held and the community will be invited to provide feedback and delegate the ARC and the board. The ARC is expected to begin deliberations In April 2014. It will run until February 2015 when a final decision on the ARC’s recommendations will be made by all trustees. Additional details will be provided as the review proceeds. Report # 1 which outlines the review has been posted on the board’s website at www.ugdsb.ca/wnar and copies of Report # 1 are now available at the schools.

Trustee Distribution and Determination

The Province sets the number (determination) of trustees of a board based on the numbers that were in effect in 2006, unless a board wishes to reduce that number or there is significant demographic growth. The board is responsible for distributing the number of trustees geographically according to the number of electors in each municipality, attempting to achieve balance among the trustees. 

A report must be filed with the Ministry, clerks of municipalities and other boards wholly or partly in the board’s jurisdiction about this determination and distribution. The board must also report if it has any designated low population areas.
The board has determined that there will be is no change in the determination or distribution of trustees for the 2014 municipal elections. This is based on the fact that there has been no significant growth in the area so the number of trustees remains at 10. In reviewing the number of electors for each trustee, the board decided that the geographic distribution will remain the same as in the 2010 election. The board will also report that it finds no advantage in designating any areas in the low population category affecting the number of trustees. 

Education Development Charges

In preparation for calculating new Education Development Charges (EDC) for Wellington County (including Guelph) and Dufferin County (including Orangeville) trustees approved three resolutions required for the EDC study. 

EDCs are paid to the local municipality and forwarded to the school board by residential home builders to fund the purchase of school sites by the board. The resolutions include: 

The Board will set its EDCs by the end of the school year. Along with the Wellington Catholic board it will hold public meetings for the municipalities, developers and interested others to receive input on EDC charges. EDCs run for a period of five years.

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The April meeting of the board will be held on Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at 7:00 pm in Board Room at the Guelph Office, 500 Victoria Road North. Everyone is welcome to attend.

 

For more information: 

Maggie McFadzen, Communications Officer
519-822-4420 ext.725
[email protected]  

Mark Weidmark, Administrative Officer – Communications
519-822-4420 ext.544
[email protected]
 

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