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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard 5 Nov 2002 Minutes Public0 W ML OTTAWA-CARLETON DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES 5 November 2002 A consultation meeting of the provincially appointed Supervisor to the Ottawa - Carleton District School Board was held this evening at 133 Greenbank Road, Ottawa, Ontario, in the Board Room commencing at 6:15 p.m. with Supervisor Mery Beckstead in the Chair. Trustees: Lynn Graham, Russ Jackson, Margaret Lange, Myrna Laurenceson, Jim Libbey, Norm MacDonald, David.Moen, Pam Morse, Lynn Scott and Joan Spice. Staff. A/V Technician, Robert Giekes and Committee Coordinator, Bruce Fraser. Also present: Assistant to Mr. Beckstead, Andrea McCormick Supervisor Mery Beckstead called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m. and advised that the meeting had no formal agenda. He thanked the trustees for attending and introduced Andrea McCormick who will be assisting in the development of the final report to the Minister of Education. He noted that he had met with a number of trustees individually concerning the current budget situation and had called this meeting to provide an opportunity to consult with trustees as a group. Mr. Beckstead noted that there are a number of challenges concerning the budget and advised that the impact of an overall enrolment decrease of 950 students as well as that of the double cohort are currently being considered. Trustees presented their ideas using a round table format and the following points were noted: • consideration should be given to the findings of the Education Improvement Commission concerning the development of multi -board consortiums and joint ventures; • an analysis of the impact of school twinning should be undertaken, and if the process is continued, school councils should be consulted as required under the Education Act. • the Board's prime objectives and core products should be determined; • the budget process as well as corporate strategies should be reviewed with a view to maximizing efficiencies; • all non - teaching positions within the organization should be prioritized and evaluated with respect to their contribution to achieving the prime objectives and developing the core products; • public education is not a business and efficiencies must be carefully considered and should not be achieved at the expense of student education; (W • cost reductions do not necessarily improve efficiency; 0 iT,-Jl OT- rAWA-CARuTON DISTRICT SCHOO! p' -kRD MINUTES 5 November 2002 • the investigation report to the Minister of Education by Rosen & Associates Limited, contains a number of errors and should be considered with a degree of skepticism, • the government should fund services provided by the education system that, in the past, have been the responsibility of other Ministries, agencies and departments; • the cap on congregated gifted classes should be raised or eliminated; • students in gifted programs should be integrated into regular classrooms; • as an alternative to twinning schools the number of elementary vice - principals should be reduced; • the Ministry should provide additional transportation funding to allow the OCDSB to offer the same level of service as the Ottawa Carleton Catholic School Board; • Early Childhood Educators should be used in place of kindergarten teachers; • the provincial funding formula should be reviewed; • a reduction in enrolment levels reflects a lack of public confidence in the system; • the implementation of site based management could provide flexibility within the system to meet public demand for services and maintain /increase market share; • the accounting methods used by boards throughout the province should be reviewed and standardized (e.g. - reporting of future salary increases) • fees charged to "for profit" groups for the use of facilities should fully cover all fixed and incremental costs; • costs for the community use of schools must be balanced with the needs of the community; • an analysis of the effect of rate increases on the use of facilities by the community should be undertaken to determine if additional revenue has been generated or if the customer base has been reduced; • substantial reductions to expenditures have already been approved and the remaining budget difficulties are the result of underfunding; • the grant structure is problematic (e.g. - OCDSB salaries are average for provincial boards but still exceed funding levels); -2- 0 iT,-Jl OTTAWA-CAUETON DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES 5 November 2002 • the system requires more transparency with respect to the organization and disclosure of financial information; • school closure decisions should move forward more quickly; • the disposition of surplus property should move forward; • the Board's budget should be based on expected revenues; • additional reductions to services, such as transportation, could result in a significant loss of market share; • approved changes to the Transportation Policy should be reviewed to ensure the projected savings are being realized; • the impact of any reductions should be carefully considered and the consequences should be anticipated as much as possible; • the system should be reviewed and changed to ensure that student outcomes are the best value possible; • the number of French Immersion entry points should be reduced; • pupil places in relocatable classrooms should be included in grant calculations; • the budget process should consider the effectiveness of expenditures to student outcomes; • efforts for improvement of services (e.g. library services) should be integrated with other organizations where possible; • the system must identify and accommodate the needs of students and parents throughout the Board's jurisdiction by expanding program choice and accessibility; • consideration should be given to implementing a four day school week to achieve savings in the areas of transportation, custodial, administrative and facilities maintenance costs; • suggestions for improvements and cost savings should be solicited from departmental managers; • an enhanced marketing strategy directed at foreign students should be developed; • the OCDSB Foundation to raise money for beacon schools and students at risk should be effectively promoted; -3- 0 M_J OTrAWA-CMUETON DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES 5 November 2002 • non - classroom services should be reduced where possible and /or consolidated with other organizations; • incentives to principals to reduce costs should be considered; • additional psychologists should be hired in order to increase ISA funding; • review reciprocal agreements with the City of Ottawa to ensure the Board is adequately compensated; • the review of progr�s _ = hould be undertaken independently of the school closure review process; • further reductions to facilities budgets could result in risks to student safety and student learning; • funding for staff development should be increased; • there has already been too many reductions to administrative staffing, additional reductions will negatively affect services to students; • the focus of the budget review must be on productivity and the effective use of funding in order to provide the best benefit cost. Supervisor Beckstead thanked the trustees for their input and noted that he will be working closely with the Ministry of Education to resolve the current issues. The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Approved by G ! yeMu y Supervis of the Bo Date bat %bdm inutes(supery isor) -5 Nov02. doc -4-