P. 1 Board Meeting
P. 2  SD61 District PAC (DPAC / VCPAC) information

Due to illness, I did not attend this meeting. Agenda here. 

All motions carried, with the exception of my “Animals in Classrooms” motion which was removed from the agenda until a future date, as I was not there to speak to it.

Animals at present are not evacuated in a fire drill or earthquake drill. What does this teach children about compassion? It teaches that animals are disposable objects. As well, a busy noisy classroom is far from an ideal home for any animal. 

A. 3
That the Board  approve revised Policy 1250 Trustee School, First Nation, Municipal Liaison. / Carried.  (See Pp 16-18 agenda)

D1. Education Policy and Directions Committee
a) Minutes from the February 5, 2018 meeting – Information only (p 24-27) [Lined Paper record here.]
b) Recommended Motions: [ Carried at Ed Policy]

i) That the Board  call on the BCSTA to urge the Ministry of Education to
embed consent as a key concept in the K-12 curriculum. / Carried. 

ii) That the Board  call on the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Child and
Family Development, the Ministry of Public Safety, and the Ministry
of Mental Health, to work together to develop a Gender-based Violence Prevention Strategy for Youth. / Carried.

iii) That the Board  direct the Superintendent of Schools to review Regulation
1163 – Consultation. / Carried.

D2. Operations Policy and Planning Committee
a) Minutes from the February 13, 2018 meeting – Information only (p 28-34) [Lined Paper record here.]
b) Recommended Motions: [Carried at OPPS]

i) That the Board direct the Superintendent to work with the Policy SubCommittee
to develop a Policy and Regulation on Equity for the
Board’s consideration. / Carried.

ii) That the Board  direct the Superintendent to cost the provision of lunch hour
supervision as presented in the report of the Deputy Superintendent dated February 13, 2018 to be returned to the March 2018 Operations Policy and Planning Committee meeting. / Carried.

iii) That the Board approve the posting of the following amended 2018/2019
school year calendar on the School District’s website for a period of
one month. [ See p 2 35 agenda] / Carried

iv) That the Board  agree to give all three readings of the 2017/2018 Amended
Annual Budget Bylaw at the meeting of Feb 26, 2018. [Information Pp 36-57 agenda ] / Carried. 

v) That the Board Amended Annual Budget Bylaw for fiscal year 2017/2018
in the amount of $240,201,341 be: Read a first, second and third  time, passed and adopted the 26th day of February, 2018; And that the Chairperson and the Secretary Treasurer be authorized to sign, seal and execute this Bylaw on behalf of the Board. / Carried.

vi) That the Board approve in principle the revised Policy 1421 – Naming School Sites and accept in principle the revised Regulation 1421 – Naming School Sites and send the draft policy and regulation to our stakeholders for comment to be returned to the May 2018 Operations Policy and Planning Committee meeting. [ Information Pp 58-5 65 agenda] / Carried

vii) That the Board  approve in principle Policy 1422 – Recognition of Significant
Contributions to the District and accept in principle Regulation 1422- Recognition of Significant Contributions to the District and send the draft policy and regulation to our stakeholders for comment to be returned to the May 2018 Operations Policy and Planning Committee meeting. [ Information Pp 66-67 agenda]

viii) That the Board delete Policy 6112 – School Day. (p 68-71) / Carried

ix) That the Board approve revised Policy 7110.1 – Leasing of Closed Schools. (p 72-74) / Carried.

x) That the Board  direct the Superintendent to bring potential sites associated with the Report of February 14, 2018 relating to Anomura Housing to the next appropriate Board meeting. (p 75-76) / Carried 

xi) That the Board rescind the following motion, which was passed by the SD61 Board on May 23, 2017 but never acted upon: That the Board  request the Chair to write a letter to the Minister of Education, copying other Party leaders, requesting that the Ministry of Education fund CUPE Education Assistants to supervise SD61 K-5 students during student lunch times in classrooms that rely on students to do this supervision. / Carried.

xii) That the Board  submit the following motion at the BCSTA 2018 AGM: THAT the BCSTA investigate the provision of corporate sponsored opportunities for senior staff in B.C. and provide a report to the 2018-19 BCSTA AGM regarding the extent of offerings and develop a model policy for addressing the issue. (p 77) / Carried. 

xiii) That the Board write to the Premier and Minister of Education requesting that the BC Transit Act be amended to include the appointment of a trustee of one of the School Districts falling within the Capital Regional District as a member of the regional transit commission for the greater Victoria metropolitan area./ Carried. 

E.2 Secretary-Treasurer’s Report

b) Oaklands and Quadra Elementary School Classroom Expansion (p 82-83) :  i. That the Board ) approve the expenditure of up to $250,000 from local capital for the construction of a learning studio at Oaklands Elementary School. ii. That the Board approve the expenditure of up to $250,000 from local capital for the construction of a learning studio at Quadra Elementary School. / Carried. 

H.1 New Business

a) Trustee McNally – Policy for Animal in Schools (Rationale and backgrounder from the BC SPCA, p 84-89): Removed from agenda until a later date.

That the Board  direct the Policy Sub Committee to develop Policy in regard to animals kept as “classroom pets,” and that the Committee take into account the BC SPCA’s statements on animals in classrooms and the possibility that classroom pets are not desirable at all, in the development of the Policy, and that the Superintendent draft a Regulation to implement the Policy when finalized by the Board.