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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09 Report 1, Human REsources Committee, 1 February 2011 REPORT NO. 1, HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE TO: The Board DATE: 01 February 2011 A meeting of the Human Resources Committee was held this evening in the Trustees’ Committee Room, 133 Greenbank Road, Ottawa, commencing at 7:36 p.m. with Trustee Pam FitzGerald as the Chair and the following in attendance: TRUSTEE MEMBERS: Donna Blackburn and John Shea OTHER TRUSTEES: Rob Campbell, Bronwyn Funiciello, Theresa Kavanagh, Jennifer McKenzie, and Lynn Scott STAFF: Janice McCoy, Superintendent of Human Resources Sue Peter-Weeks, Manager of Human Resources Janet Beers, Labour Relations Officer Anne O’Dacre, Labour Relations Officer Jennifer Baldelli, Human Resources Officer (Secondary) William McNeely, Human Resources Officer (Elementary) Barry Scott, Labour Relations Administrator Laurie Cameron, Board/Committee Coordinator NON-VOTING REPRESENTATIVES: Ellen Dickson, Ottawa-Carleton Assembly of School Councils (OCASC) Barb Gage, Ottawa-Carleton Secondary School Administrators’ Network (OCSSAN) Bruce Whitehead, Ottawa-Carleton Secondary School Administrators’ Network (OCSSAN) 1. Call to Order The Chair called the meeting to order at7:36p.m. and welcomed everyone to the meeting. 2. Approval of Agenda Moved by Trustee Blackburn, THAT the agenda be approved as presented. - Carried – 3. Public Question Period There were no public questions. 4. Delegations There were no delegations. Human Resources Committee - 1 - 01 February 2011 5. Report 11-032 Academic Staffing Allocations for 2011-2012 Your committee had before it Report 11-032, providing the committee with information regarding academic staffing, including staffing decisions made as part of the 2010-2011 budget, identifying discretionary staffing areas and setting out timelines for decision making. Superintendent McCoy noted the report was being provided to the Human Resources Committee for discussion as it was part of the annual process for the Human Resources Committee to approve the academic staffing for the following year. She noted that normally staff brings forward a report in February on the process, which is then followed in March by the academic staffing recommendations for the following school year. A copy of the Staffing Timelines for Budget Approval of Academic Allocations was provided to members. Superintendent McCoy noted that staff was attempting to respond directly to trustees’ questions in advance of the March Human Resources meeting by providing preliminary staffing numbers in February for discussion. Superintendent McCoy reviewed Report 11-032, Academic Staffing Allocations for 2011-2012 in detail as follows: Appendix A provides high detail regarding the academic staffing recommendations. It includes the staffing decisions made in the 2010-2011 budget; The report specifically indicates recommendations may be impacted by budget assumptions to be discussed at the 07 February Budget Committee meeting, which has been cancelled; and Senior staff have been working with Chief Financial Officer Clarke and Finance staff st regarding the projections for 2011-2012, which will be presented at the March 1 Human Resources Committee meeting. The recommendations may look somewhat different than what is shown based on the District’s financial outlook. Specifically, based on current projections, the approved reductions for 2011-2012 will not be required. Human Resources Officer (Elementary), Bill McNeely, reviewed the Elementary Academic Staffing in Appendix A, noting the following highlights: Projected column shows a projected enrolment for the District of 41,313 students for the 2011-2012 school year; Basic staffing of 1889 FTEs is based upon classroom sizes regulated by legislation; The preparation time for basic staff is driven by collective agreement. The Ministry framework provided an increase of 10 minutes weekly per year, which brings the District to 210 minutes per week for 2011-2012; Needs Allocation is a buffer of 16.38 FTEs to make the pieces all fit together in the staffing plan; All reductions made in the 2010-2011 budget have been carried through; The reduction of two congregated system classes includes one gifted class at Henry Munro Middle School and the other at Hawthorne Public School; The reduction of one Developmental Disabilities class is at Cedarview Middle School; and The items shown in the Subject to Board Decision column on the far right hand side of the page totalling 549.85 FTEs are subject to the Board’s discretion, where as the column entitled Required by Contract or Legislation of 2334.94 FTE cannot be revised. Staff provided the following information in response to trustees’ inquiries: The 71 FTE for full day Kindergarten (FDK) represents teachers in the full-day kindergarten programs; The proportion of kindergarten students enrolled in the full-day kindergarten program will be followed up and provided to trustees by Superintendent McCoy; Human Resources Committee - 2 - 01 February 2011 The increased preparation time has been addressed over the past two years by establishing cyclical assignment teachers (CATs) who travel from school to school to provide additional time to teachers for preparation time. The CATs are generally assigned to physical education or different art programs, and this varies from school to school; Attempts are being made to move away from the use of CATs and to allocate the FTEs directly to the actual schools; There is a time allocation model defining the amount of time students are to spend in each area, eg. literacy, numeracy, technology, arts, etc. Specialized teachers are not necessarily utilized to increase the time spent in the arts; Some or all of the approved reductions from the 2010-2011 budget delayed to the 2011-2012 budget may not form part of staff’s final academic staffing proposal in March; If trustees wish to recommend changes to staffing, these will be dealt with through the normal approval process at the March Human Resources meeting; The staffing chart is specific to academic staffing recommendations, and does not include reductions in the area of administrative and support staff; and At the March 3rd Human Resources Committee meeting staff will present the recommended staffing for 2011-2012. Based on the financial projections for 2011-2012, staff will review all decisions made for reductions in 2010-2011 delayed to the 2011-2012 budget year. Trustee Funiciello noted her intent to bring forward a notice of motion to the Education Committee regarding reductions to specialized classes, including the two gifted programs at Henry Munro Middle School and Hawthorne Public School. Human Resources Officer Jennifer Baldelli reviewed the Secondary Staffing Chart for 2011-2012 and noted the following items: Secondary basic staffing FTEs are based on enrolment; A reduction of 263 secondary students in the District is being projected for 2011-2012, resulting in a reduction of 6.7 FTEs in the basic staffing entitlement; A decrease of 1.0 FTE for English as a Second Language/English Literacy Development will occur based upon a central orientation class reduction; Urban Aboriginal should read 0.5 for 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. There are two classes being provided at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School, and another class commenced this semester at Rideau High School, for a total of three classes; Learning Support Teacher (LST) contractual shows a decrease of 0.5 FTE based upon decreased enrolment; LST non-contractual shows a decrease of 6.0 FTEs, which is based on a Board decision deferred to 2011-2012; Under Special Education, System Classes/Programs increased 1.33 FTEs due to an increase in the general learning program at the Ottawa Technical Secondary School, and Consultants should read as 5.0 FTEs in both columns; An increase of 5.33 FTEs in Needs Allocation to 6.0 FTEs was noted to address any potential needs related to staffing. In 2010-2011 the District only used 0.67 FTEs, but there is no guarantee the usage will be the same for 2011-2012; and Bottom line in 2010-2011 should be 1616 FTEs, and projected for 2011-2012 should read 1614.5 FTEs. The staffing charts for the 2011-2012 Elementary and Secondary Administration were reviewed. Superintendent McCoy noted, because there are some Vice-Principals that are also teaching, these staffing levels must be approved by March as they can impact the teaching FTEs. Human Resources Human Resources Committee - 3 - 01 February 2011 Officer, William McNeely, noted the only change in the Elementary Administration chart was the increase of 1.0 FTE in school principals for the new public school being opened in Stittsville. Human Resources Officer, Jennifer Baldelli, noted for the 2011-2012 Secondary Administration that the in school principals remained the same at 74.67 FTES, but that the central principals had been reduced from 4.0 FTE to 2.0 FTE. This reduction is due to budget reductions of 1.0 principal of safe schools, and 1.0 principal of school operations. In response to trustees’ queries, staff provided the following information: There will not be an additional Vice-Principal allocated to Longfields Davidson Heights School; It was agreed the process used for allocating vice-principals would be added to the long range agenda for future discussion; and There has not been a discussion between senior staff about increasing secondary vice- principal allocation. 6. Report 11-004 Annual Report of the OCDSB Employee Assistance Program Your committee had before it Report 11-004, providing the committee with the utilization of the Employee Assistance Program provided by Family Services Employee Assistance Program (FSEAP) for the 2009-2010 year. Manager of Human Resources, Susan Peter-Weeks, provided an overview of the report as follows: Free consultation services are available to all regular employees and their family members; The information in the report determines the District’s usage of the services provided through the Employee Assistance Program; Usage has remained consistent over the past couple of years; The most recurring problems are family and social/emotional issues; A higher percentage of females have accessed the service, as well as employees with 10 or more years of service (a trend not seen in previous years); Feedback from employees is that the service is highly valued; Human Resources support the ongoing program being available; and Utilization rates cost the District $20,000 more than what was budgeted, and this change will be reflected in the EAP budget for 2011-2012. In response to questions from trustees’, the following information was provided: The legal issues addressed are normally around financial problems, bankruptcy, divorce or custody battles. The nature of the legal advice is preliminary as a referral service; A specific comparison to another employer has not been completed by OCDSB. However, the Employee Assistance Program has gauged the District’s usage as an organization relative to their other clients, and has indicated that the usage is consistent in terms of the broader public sector; and There is a limit of 12 sessions per employee. 7.Superintendent’s Report Superintendent McCoy reported that Human Resources staff were approaching their busiest time of year. She noted effective today, that all secondary schools were utilizing the Easy Connect program for calling occasional teachers. Superintendent McCoy advised that the timeline for elementary staff to implement the Easy Connect program was March 1st, and that staff were busy organizing training Human Resources Committee - 4 - 01 February 2011 sessions for principals and office administration staff. The Easy Connect system is an automatic call out system that makes contact with occasional teachers based upon the different priorities required. The occasional teachers are contacted either by telephone or email to see if they are available for the time requested, and confirmation of the hiring is made at that point. In response to a query from Trustee McKenzie, Superintendent McCoy reported that principals do have the capacity to develop priority lists in Easy Connect. Easy Connect goes to the priority list first; however, once the system has contacted and exhausted the short list, it then goes to the larger occasional teacher list with different priority markers. 8. Long Range Agenda The long range agenda was reviewed and the following items added: Allocation of Vice-Principals to Elementary and Secondary Schools; and Use of Specialized Teachers. 9. New Business: There was no new business. 10. Adjournment The Committee went in camera at 8:55 p.m., and subsequently adjourned at 10:50 p.m. Pam FitzGerald Chair, Human Resources Committee Human Resources Committee - 5 - 01 February 2011