(The Newsbrief is meant to provide the highlights of the decisions made at the Board meeting for the benefit of our community. The notes do not serve as the official record of the meeting. Please refer to Board or Committee minutes).
Trustees confirmed the December 4, 2017 Board Organizational meeting minutes including the election of the Chair, Vice-Chair and Committee Membership.
Election of Chair – Trustee Shirley Seward
Upon her election, Trustee Seward said, “I am honoured to be elected as Chair of the Board once again. It is my hope we will engage in the very best thinking, decision making and consultations with our communities to ensure we leave a strong foundation for the next Board.”
Election of Vice Chair – Trustee Lynn Scott
Trustee Scott was acclaimed Vice-Chair. Trustee Scott said she is looking forward to her new role as Vice-Chair of the Board. Trustee Scott thanked her fellow trustees for their support and confidence in her abilities to represent the District as Vice Chair.
Zone 1 – Lynn Scott
Vice-Chair of the Board
Statutory, Ad Hoc, Advisory, and Special Purpose Committees
Member – (ex officio) Ad Hoc Committee for Board Self-Evaluation and Director Performance Evaluation Processes
Member – Board of Directors, Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA)
Member – Audit Committee
Member – Ad Hoc Committee to Develop an Advocacy Strategy
Member – Ad Hoc Committee for Executive Compensation
Member (Ex-officio) – Community Member Recognition Awards Selection Ad Hoc Committee
Member (Ex-officio) – Agenda Planning Committee
Member (Ex-officio) – Strike Management Committee
Zone 2 – Christine Boothby
Statutory, Ad Hoc, Advisory, and Special Purpose Committees
Member – Alternative Schools Advisory Committee
Member - Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC)
Member - Community Member Recognition Awards Selection Ad Hoc Committee
Member - Ad Hoc Committee for Board Self-Evaluation and Director Performance Evaluation Processes
Member – Agenda Planning Committee
Alternate Member – Board of Directors, Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA)
Member (Non-voting) – Alternative Schools Advisory Committee
Member – Ad Hoc Committee to Develop an Advocacy Strategy
Member – Ad Hoc Committee for Executive Compensation
Zone 3 – Donna Blackburn
Statutory, Ad Hoc, Advisory, and Special Purpose Committees
Member – Ad Hoc Committee for Executive Compensation
Member – Board of Directors, Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA)
Zone 4 – Theresa Kavanagh
Chair – Committee of the Whole Budget
Statutory, Ad Hoc, Advisory, and Special Purpose Committees
Member – School Active Transportation Support Network Steering Committee
Member – Ottawa-Carleton Education Network (OCENET)
Member – Community Member Recognition Awards Selection Ad Hoc Committee
Member – Ad Hoc Committee to Develop an Advocacy Strategy
Member (Non-Voting) – Environmental Education Steering Committee
Zone 5 – Dr. Anita Olsen Harper
Statutory, Ad Hoc, Advisory, and Special Purpose Committees
Member – Community Member Recognition Awards Selection Ad Hoc Committee
Alternate Member – Ottawa-Carleton Education Network (OCENET)
Alternate Member — Parent Involvement Committee (PIC)
Alternate Member – Supervised Alternative Learning Committee (SAL)
Member – Special Education Advisory Committee
Zone 6 – Chris Ellis
Statutory, Ad Hoc, Advisory, and Special Purpose Committees
Member – Parent Involvement Committee
Alternate Member – Agenda Planning Committee
Member – Advisory Committee for Extended Day and Child Care Programs
Alternate Member (Non-voting) Student Senate
Zone 7 – Mark Fisher
Statutory, Ad Hoc, Advisory, and Special Purpose Committees
Ad Hoc Committee for Board Self-Evaluation and Director Performance Evaluation Processes
Zone 8 – Keith Penny
Statutory, Ad Hoc, Advisory, and Special Purpose Committees
Member – Ad Hoc Committee for Board Self-Evaluation and Director Performance Evaluation Processes
Member – Special Education Advisory Committee
Member – Audit Committee
Member – Ad Hoc Committee for Executive Compensation
Alternate Member – Board of Directors, Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA)
Zone 9 – Shawn Menard
Statutory, Ad Hoc, Advisory, and Special Purpose Committees
Zone 10 – Erica Braunovan
Statutory, Ad Hoc, Advisory, and Special Purpose Committees
Member – Supervised/Alternative Learning Committee (SAL)
Member – Ad Hoc Committee to Develop an Advocacy Strategy
Member (Non-voting) – Student Senate
Trustee Mentor for Student Trustees
Member (Non-voting) – Advisory Committee on Equity
Zone 11 – Shirley Seward
Chair of the Board
Statutory, Ad Hoc, Advisory, and Special Purpose Committees
Member (Ex-officio) – Ad Hoc Committee for Board Self-Evaluation and Director Performance Evaluation Processes
Member (Ex-officio) – Ad Hoc Committee to Develop an Advocacy Strategy
Member (Ex-officio) – Agenda Planning Committee
Member (Ex-officio) (Non-voting) – Advisory Committee on the Arts
Member (Ex-officio) (Non-voting) – Alternative Schools Advisory Committee
Member (Ex-officio) (Non-voting) – Advisory Committee on Equity (ACE)
Member (Ex-officio) – Community Member Recognition Awards Selection Ad Hoc Committee
Alternate Member (Ex-officio) - Board of Directors, Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA)
Member (Ex-officio) – Ad Hoc Committee for Executive Compensation
Zone 12 – Sandra Schwartz
Statutory, Ad Hoc, Advisory, and Special Purpose Committees
Member – Audit Committee
Trustees received the November 29, 2017 Committee of the Whole Budget Report
The report provides information regarding the issues affecting the 2018-2019 Budget and confirmed the planned time lines and processes.
Highlights included:
- The District incurred an operating surplus of $15.2 million for the 2016-2017 school year
- The surplus is a result of increased enrolment across the District and a one-time accounting gain from the transition to employee life and health trusts
- The District now has some additional flexibility and an increased ability to align the 2018-2019 expenditures with the Board’s strategic focus
- Investments in District staffing, provided by Local Priorities Funding (LPF), will continue for one more year
- Planning staff expect the enrolment growth experienced over the last two years to stabilize
- The need to maintain and support District infrastructure, physical, digital and human, provides additional pressure to the 2018-2019 Budget
Approval of basic daily fee rates for full-time Extended Day Program (EDP) and full-time daily rate for optional days for EDP
Trustees approved the Extended Day program fee for students enrolled in the program full time to remain unchanged at $22.50 per day. The fee will be $35.00 per day for students who require optional days of care. This fee is also unchanged and remains in effect for September 2018.18.
Background
The District provides 63 EDP programs with an additional 30 before-and-after school programs provided by Third Party Operators. There are 5,038 children from the ages of 3.8 to 12 years of age in District EDPs. The OCDSB is one of the largest providers of before-and-after school programs in the province. The Extended Day Policy, P.035.SCO provides direction for the EDP staffing model used in the before-and after school portion of the program.
Provisions for Calling Extraordinary Meetings of the Board
Trustees approved a resolution authorizing the calling of extraordinary meetings of the Board to deal with executive compensation issues. The bylaw includes a provision for an emergency meeting called an extraordinary meeting - this requires less notice but the Board has to have passed a motion to authorize it. The Board did that this evening by invoking the provisions of Section 8.6 of the Board’s By-laws and Standing Rules for the period from December 12, 2017 to March 31, 2018.
This is a precautionary measure which allows greater flexibility in scheduling meetings if for some reason a decision of the board is required.
The OCDSB is in the process of seeking approval of its executive compensation proposal and is waiting to hear back from the Ministry. To ensure the Board’s capacity to be responsive to Ministry time lines, it chose to invoke the provisions of the Board By-laws.