An overview of discussion items and major decisions of the Board of Education of School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake). For meeting agendas/minutes and a schedule of upcoming board meetings visit SD8.bc.ca/meetings.
Superintendent Trish Smillie presented the draft School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake) Strategic Plan 2024-2029 to the Board who approved it for field testing. The draft plan is now available online for public review and will be shared with all staff, students and partners for field testing until May 8, 2023. The final plan will be presented to the Board for approval on May 9 at the Board of Education Meeting Held in Public.
Director of Instruction – Equity, Inclusion and Reconciliation Deanna Holitzki and District Principal – Early Years and Elementary Learning Naomi Ross provided an overview of child care programs and initiatives in the district for the 2022-2023 school year, to address the Ministry of Education and Child Care goal of providing access to sustainable, equitable, and inclusive childcare spaces based on community need, and recruitment of early childhood educators. With support from the West Kootenay and East Kootenay childcare referral organizations, SD8 is completing an environmental scan to identify additional child care needs within the district. Currently there are eight child-care programs on school sites in the district: two in the Slocan Valley, five in the Nelson area, one on the North Shore, and one in Salmo. Except for the Seamless Day program at Winlaw Elementary that is delivered by SD8 staff, all programs in the district are operated by third-party providers.
Secretary-Treasurer Johan Glaudemans provided presented the 2023-2024 Preliminary Budget.
Expenses in the preliminary budget have considered reductions of one-time expenses, salary
increases, addition costs for transportation, and added cost pressures for facilities and
operations due to increased inflation and have removed the one-time costs for trustee elections and orientation costs. Currently, the preliminary budget represents a balanced operating budget of just under $67 million which is an increase of about $2.8 million compared to 2022-2023. Student enrolment is projected to decline by about the equivalent of 6.5 full-time students in 2023-24. The final budget will be presented to the Board for approval on May 9, 2023.
Secretary-Treasurer Johan Glaudemans and Director of Operations Chris Kerr presented the Capital Plan Bylaw 2023/2024 for a first, second and third reading and approval by the Board. The bylaw is an update to the 5-Year Capital Operations Plan 2022 – 2027 and addresses specific projects in that plan. The motion addressing the Capital Plan Bylaw 2023/2024 passed unanimously.
Secretary-Treasurer Johan Glaudemans presented a memo on school fees to the Board, explaining that for the coming school year, most school fees have remained the same across the district with a few exceptions due to an increase in material costs or the provision of new materials. Wherever possible, schools have kept fees unchanged for programs that are required for graduation. All school fees follow Policy 430: Fees, Deposits and Financial Hardship. No student has been or will be denied an opportunity to participate in a course or activity because they did not or could not pay school fees. The Board approved the 2023-2024 School Fees as proposed.
Student Trustee Patton Gatto-Beebe, Kootenay River Secondary School: students were very thankful for a four-day long weekend after spring break. KRSS students enjoyed a presentation from an Indigenous artist and school morale has never been higher.
Student Trustee Natasha Holland, Mount Sentinel Secondary: Mr. Weber and the Sequoia Program students are working with Freedom Quest again this year, the Mount Sentinel Performance and Media Academy (Academy PM) students will leave on their first annual trip to Vancouver since 2018. They will visit UBC, BCIT, Capilano University, and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Mount Sentinel will also be field testing their new cell phone protocol starting on April 13.
These highlights exclude confidential information such as business negotiations, personnel issues and legal matters. For other information or to provide feedback, please contact our Public Engagement Manager at 250-505-7005 or engagement@sd8.bc.ca