School Start up: "It looks like school," Superintendent of Schools/CEO Peter Jory said about the start up of the new school year to trustees at the School District No. 83 Board of Education meeting on Tuesday at the DESC.

"Aside from the masks and sign-ins and sanitizer, and the somewhat 80’s seating plans, it looks like school, and when I was out there it seemed to me that kids were pretty darn happy about being back in session, and I think that is the majority sentiment. Once again, I would like to thank everyone across the District for going above and beyond in order to make this work. It has been incredibly challenging and our staff and community has risen to that challenge for sure. Honestly, I can’t say enough about how proud I am of our District."

Jory discussed the safety planning and re-organization which has been put into place since March, including the re-expansion of the Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education Outreach Program, SD83's online learning program. He noted students in EOP will be supported by the Inclusive Education Department in areas such as counselling and learning resource time.

Enrolment Update: Although there are still some unknowns around enrolment, most schools are right around projections, a few are even above, and a few are substantially below what was projected and staffing changes have been made, reported Jory to the Board on Tuesday.

SD83 was projected to have 6,517 full time equivalent (FTE) and schools were staffed based on that, explained Jory.

Currently there is 180 students on soft-start, 220 in EOP temporarily, 62 on EOP for the year with perhaps 30 more on the way. "Assuming everyone that says they will come back does so, we are down 80 to 100 FTE."

However, he noted, there are many unknowns in that range and SD83 will not be funded for those who don't return so there is potential liability.

Secretary-treasurer Alanna Cameron commented at this point it is too early to know where the district's funding will stand but, worse case, it could be as much as $2 million below projections.

Possible partnership: The Board is considering a proposal from the District of Sicamous to be part of a joint project to build a multi-use court in Sicamous. District of Sicamous Operations Manager Joe McCulloch attended the Board meeting on Tuesday and presented the multi-court proposal, which they are hoping will be built near Eagle River Secondary and substantially funded by the Canada-British Columbia Investing Canada Infrastructure Program. McCulloch said the District of Sicamous would contribute 13.3 per cent and they were asking SD83 to contribute the other 13.3 per cent (approximately $81,000). In return the schools would get to use the courts (basketball, tennis and pickleball) for their PE programs. Other benefits would be that it is increasing the outdoor recreation opportunities for the community, there would be an opportunity to introduces new programs for all ages, and the complex would allow for multi sports to be played at one time.

Year End Financial Statements: After receiving a "clean bill of health" from auditor Murray Smith of KPMG, the Board of Education approved the 2019-20 Annual Financial Statements as presented at its meeting.

Read Financial Statement Discussion and Analysis Report

Board Internal Calendar: Cameron presented a revised internal administrative 2020-21 calendar to the Board. The changes from the previously approved calendar include changing two of the Board meeting dates from the third Tuesday to the third Wednesday in October and November. Due to COVID-19, the location of the November meeting will be changed back to the DESC.

Risk Assessment Reputation Update: Cameron reported to the Board that SD83 staff continue to work on key risks identified in the KPMG Enterprise Risk Management assessment summary report and Risk Register from 2018. The assessment was designed to help SD83 identify significant risks, prioritize the risks, and provide guidance on appropriate risk mitigation strategies and monitoring procedures. She added departments are committed to ongoing monitoring and review processes in order to ensure that the identified risks are controlled and/or mitigated. All actions plans are reviewed, documented and discussed at the audit committee. Six of the 24 identified risks are still to be worked on. Currently staff are working on four, which relate to Operations. Work on the remaining two will be done in November and further steps will be determined after that.

Policy : The Board gave first reading to Policy 138 - Livestreaming and Electronic Board Meetings, and to Policy 160 - Policy Development. It also gave second reading to Policy 220 - Inquiries and Concerns, and to Policy 240 - Volunteers in Schools.

Board Procedural Bylaws: The Board gave first and second reading to its amended Procedural Bylaws. The amendments made to the bylaws have been done to more accurately reflect current practice, for clarification, and to be consistent with new policies. Third reading is planned for the October meeting.

Board Work Plan: The Board of Education adopted the 2020-21 Work Plan as amended at the meeting (date correction for Pink Shirt Day to February 24).

Board Committees: At the meeting Board Chair gave an update on committee assignments for trustees, which will remain the same as last year. Education Directions will be chaired by Marianne VanBuskirk, Finance and Facilities/Audit Committee will be chaired by Amanda Krebs, the Labour Relations Committee will be chaired by Quentin Bruns, the Partner Group Liaison Committee will be chaired by Marty Gibbons, and the Policy Committee will be chaired by Tennile Lachmuth.