The Record Off The Record is my personal record of and commentary on SD61 Board and Standing Committee meetings. Official, approved minutes are on the SD61 website, one month after the meeting.
SD61 Greater Victoria School District includes students in Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Victoria, View Royal, parts of Saanich and the Highlands, and the Traditional Territories of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.
Sticky post: Motions and Trustee Voting Records January 2012 – October 2016 (November 2016-May 2017 to come). Motions may be shortened but retain essential information.
P1: Backgrounders/ Meeting Schedule / Trustee Appointments
P2: Standing Committee Meeting
P3: Letter to Ministry of Education from SD23 Central Okanagan
Trustees are assigned as voting members by the Chair to one of the two standing committees, Education Policy and Directions, and Operations Policy and Planning. Agenda setting is the prerogative of the Committee Chair, with input from senior administration. Recent Change to Standing Committee vote: October 17/16, Whiteaker: That the Board amend Bylaw 9130 Standing Committees to remove the words “with voting rights” from Item #4 and Item #5. / Carried. Unanimous. This had the effect of allowing only members of the Standing Committee to vote on motions, though other Trustees, if they attend, can participate in the debate. The Chair of the Board ex officio member both Committees, with voting rights. Quorum is a majority of Trustee members on the committee.
Standing committees are the best opportunity for stakeholders, public, and partner groups to make their views known to Trustees. Standing Committee structure operates on less formal Rules of Order than does the Board, ie. no need for a seconder for a motion, and a Trustee can speak as many times as the Chair allows; members of the public and presenters can ask questions of each other and engage in dialogue.The question can’t be called in a standing committee, meaning debate can extend for some time. Most substantive debate on motions takes place at the standing committees.
The BC School Act allows Trustees to be absent with no reason for nearly 3 months – have to show up for that last meeting in the 3d month or disqualified. Anyone else have absence leeway like that?
52 (2) If a trustee is continuously absent from board meetings for a period of 3 consecutive months, unless the absence is because of illness or with the leave of the board, the office of the member is deemed to be vacant and the person who held the office is disqualified from holding office as a trustee until the next general school election.
GVSD 61 TRUSTEE REPRESENTATIVES AND TRUSTEE ASSIGNMENTS 2017
Board Chair: Loring-Kuhanga Vice-Chair: Ferris
BOARD-ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES TO EXTERNAL MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS 2017
| British Columbia Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) | Paynter |
| British Columbia School Trustees Association (BCSTA) | Whiteaker |
BOARD STANDING COMMITTEES 2017
(Loring-Kuhanga member of both, ex officio)
Operations P&P: Chair Watters, McNally, Leonard, Paynter
Ed Policy&Dev: Chair Whiteaker, Ferris, Nohr, Orcherton
Policy SubCommittee: (members vary ; 3 month terms)Mar/17–May/17 Ferris&Orcherton
INTERNAL COMMITTEES 2017
| Aboriginal Nations Education Council | McNally |
| District Facilities Planning Committee | Ferris |
| Gender Sexuality Alliance | Watters |
| Equity Ad Hoc Committee | Paynter & Watters |
| French Immersion Advisory | Ferris |
| Needs Budget Advisory Committee | Orcherton, Leonard, Nohr |
| Public Engagement Ad Hoc Committee | McNally & Orcherton |
| Student Registration & Transfer Committee | Ferris & Nohr |
| Middle School Review Committee | Whiteaker & Leonard |
SECONDARY SCHOOL CATCHMENT AREA GROUPS LIAISON 2017
| Spectrum | Ferris& Leonard |
| Mount Doug | Paynter |
| Oak Bay | Loring-Kuhanga |
| Reynolds | Nohr&Orcherton |
| Vic High | McNally |
| Lambrick | Whiteaker |
| Esquimalt | Watters |
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS 2017
| Allied Specialists Association | Orcherton |
| CUPE 382 | Watters |
| CUPE 947 | Paynter |
| Exempt Staff | Ferris (Alternate –Whiteaker) |
| GVTA | Nohr (Alternate –Leonard) |
| Principals & VP | Loring-Kuhanga (Alternate –McNally) |
EXTERNAL TRUSTEE LIAISONS – COMMUNITY 2017
| Saanich Arts, Culture & Heritage | McNally |
| Saanich Parks, Trails & Rec | Whiteaker |
| Healthy Saanich Advisory Committee | Orcherton |
| Victoria Family Court & Youth Justice Committee | Watters |
Ad Hoc Committees of the Board and their terms of reference are listed on the SD61 website.
Meeting schedule here. Next meeting May 8/17 Operations Policy & Planning. Meeting agendas posted on SD61 website Friday before the meeting. Board meetings audio and video recorded; Standing Committees not.
