HomeMy WebLinkAbout05a Delegation Malaka Hendela OCASC submissionMarch 23, 2018
Submission in response to Report No.18-032 Approval of a Consultation Plan On
Recommended Changes to P.133.FIN, Management of School Council Funds
Presenter: Malaka Hendela, Co-Chair OCASC
On March 22, 2018, the OCASC assembly had the opportunity to have a frank and
open dialogue among its members in attendance regarding this report. This is the third
meeting where the subject of “banking” via the Board has been discussed, as on two
previous occasions OCASC offered time to the senior Board Staff to present on this
subject.
No Board staff members were in attendance at the meeting of March 22. Trustees are
always welcome at OCASC meetings and Trustee Lynn Scott was in attendance.
During the course of the four minute delegation I will present a summary of the
feedback heard during the 1.5 hour discussion between our membership last night.
Feedback was received from schools who currently bank with the Board, those who do
not, as well as schools where significant fraud events have occurred. In a particular
instance we learned that a school who experienced the largest publicly reported fraud
was required to shift to banking via the Board, however they only did so for a period of
time because school staff found it untenable and requested that the council members
take over banking once again. Consequently, this school no longer banks via the Board.
The key message we heard from our membership was a universal commitment to
communication, collaboration, and meaningful consultation to improve our school
communities and the operational management of funds. Governance, oversight,
transparency, information sharing, improved and simpler processes were all mentioned
as key areas of interest for consultation.
Our members also told us they were frustrated with this report and confused as to what
the intent of a “consultation for implementation” of a prescribed outcome was intending
to achieve. The burden on office staff and unforeseen consequences of principals and
staff acting in this capacity is a key concern with the current narrow focus. Nonetheless,
it was agreed that a growth-mindset approach of collaboration was the goal and that
councils and OCASC should endeavour to shift the perspective of consultation to a
broader governance discussion rather than a focus on one predetermined operational
outcome.
With this perspective, we submit the following request of Trustees. Please set aside the
staff recommendation to “consult on implementation” as it has been presented and
framed by the staff report.
Please bring forward a decision (at this meeting or upcoming meeting) to consider
consultation on overall governance of council funds that can reframed to be meaningful
and seek opportunities for improvement, development and reflect growth mindset with
consideration of the following:
Scope – governance options that consider transparency, accuracy, efficiency, and
comprehensive oversight of funds by parents, council members, school staff, and board
staff, and overall reporting and oversight.
Intent – reflect conditions and needs of schools that will differ due to size, activities, and
demographics that will require different operational and reporting supports for funds
management
Timing – an important and meaningful discussion requires that the timeline align with
availability for contribution. The timeline presented in the consultation is insufficient and
is constraining to limited participation. It is recommended that any consultation plan
allow for discussion well into the next school year. School Councils will not usually
meet when the proposed plan will be released to the public in June and will not be able
to respond to any recommendations from staff.
Thank you.