Budget, capital plan, Indigenous Education update at Board meeting

With a projected small increase to enrolment, similar per pupil funding from the Ministry (with the labour settlement funding added in), and inflationary pressures on services, supplies, wages, and utilities, SD83 will continue to face an ongoing operating funding shortfall.

In accordance with the School Act, school districts in the province must approve a balanced budget for the 2023/24 fiscal year for submission to the Ministry of Education and Child Care by June 30, 2023. School District No. 83 receives over 95 per cent of revenue from the provincial government through the Ministry of Education and Child Care and is expecting approximately $86.5 million in operating grants for the 2023-24 school year.

At the School District No. 83 (North Okanagan-Shuswap) Board of Education meeting at Eagle River Secondary on Tuesday evening, Secretary Treasurer Dale Culler went over the summary of changes from the prior year’s operating grant funding. He noted he breaks down the summary to show the enrolment change and rate (per pupil amount) change. He said the first column on the rate change is a bit misleading as it was a year of labour negotiations and then settlement, so the settlement funding for this year came in a “other” grant rather than in the per pupil amount. For 2023/24, the labour settlement funding for teachers and support staff has been rolled in to the per pupil amount, “Our effective rate change is about $307.”

Culler noted in all areas of enrolment they are trying to make the projections as accurate as possible, but some areas, including kindergarten registration and English Language Learning (ELL), are difficult to predict. “We are predicting a small increase in enrolment.”

The Budget Advisory Committee is currently working on the budget and will be bringing recommendations to the Board. There is a survey currently open to collect input from the public on what core supports and programs best serve the needs of students and school communities and have long-term sustainability. Culler urged people to participate in the survey, which features one open-ended question and then allows participants to rate other thoughts.

The Board also has two upcoming Committee of the Whole meetings (April 25 at 3 p.m. and May 10 at 3:30 p.m.) that will focus on the budget. These meetings will be recorded and published on the school district website.

CLICK HERE FOR SURVEY: https://tejoin.com/scroll/311142753
OPERATING GRANT SUMMARY
GRAPHS

Capital Plan Bylaw for 2023-24
The Board gave third and final reading to the 2023-24 Capital Plan Bylaw. Each year Boards submit their capital plans at the end of each June for not the upcoming year but the school year after that. This year the process has changed slightly as Boards will submit their major capital plan requests by June 2023 and their minor capital requests by September 2023, for the September 2024-25 school year.

The projects approved by the Ministry for the 2023-24 school year are: 

• Minor Capital Projects – School Enhancement Program – Parkview Elementary School – HVAC Upgrades (Phase 2) – $1,150,000 (Proceed to design, tender, construction to be completed by March 31, 2024)
• Minor Capital Projects – Carbon Neutral Capital Program – Highland Park Elementary – HVAC Upgrades – $695,424  (proceed to design tender and construction. To be completed by Dec. 31, 2023)
• Minor Capital Programs – Playground Equipment Program – Armstrong Elementary – Accessible Playground Equipment – $195,000 (Proceed to design, tender and construction. To be completed by March 31, 2024)

Superintendent’s Report
Strategic Plan – Data from the community engagement sessions (nine face-to-face and one virtual), student sessions, and from the public survey has been collated and a District Strategic Planning Committee has met for the first time and is working on a values statement. “Currently out of our data we have 40-45 values. We want to trim that down to a more reasonable number of six to eight.” Kriger said the committee hopes to have first the values statements, and then the mission, vision and strategic priorities to the Board for final approval by June.

School Food Program – As some may have heard on the news, funding for a school food program has been announced by the Ministry. Kriger said SD83 has been notified it will be receiving approximately $902,000 to reduce barriers to sustainable and consistent food funding in schools to help kids in vulnerable situations. She explains the funding includes one full time equivalent position to support the program. She added third party food service providers can be accessed to support the program, which is also designed to provide food security for weekends and school closures. SD83 plans on working with community partners, such as the Shuswap Food Action Society, to ensure healthy, local (when possible) food is used.

Integrated Child and Youth (ICY) Team – Kriger reported to trustees that she had recently attended provincial and local meetings around the development of the Integrated Child and Youth Team for SD83. She noted there were already five teams in place in the province and seven are being added. “Funding will come in the fall but we were told it would likely take anywhere from 12 to 24 months before it is up and running.” She told trustees the district’s first responsibility will be to source a clinical counsellor. She commented the local meeting was pretty exciting and although there are a number of pieces of the puzzle that need to be completed before the ICY Team is up and running, her feeling after the local meeting was the members from the different ministries and rightsholders involved all seemed to be “ready to roll up their sleeves and get this started”.

Student Connectedness – Kriger updated trustees on work being done in the area of belonging and student connectedness. She noted Directors of Instruction Chelsea Prince, Carol-Ann Leidloff, and Reid Findlay have been conducting interviews with grade seven and 11 students in middle and secondary schools to gather information on student experiences across the district. Kriger mentioned Maslow’s hierarchy of needs triangle. “Belonging actually exists in middle of triangle. Kids for sure need to have their physiological needs met, and they need to feel safe. It is only after they feel like they belong that they can actually progress up to have any chance of feeling a sense of self-esteem and then being able to reach that self actualization stage.”

She added the interviews are resulting in a lot of key information. Some of the questions being asked include:

• Do you feel that the adults in your school know about you and care about you? 
• Do you see yourself (your values, identity, culture, etc.) reflected within your school? 
• Is your school a safe place to share your concerns, hopes and dreams for the future? 
• Do you feel safe in the washrooms, hallways, and classrooms in your school? 
• Have you witnessed or experienced racism and/or discrimination in your school?
• What are the things you enjoy most about your school? 
• What’s going well for you in school right now?
• What is your biggest challenge or frustration? 
• Do the adults in your school set high expectations for you? 
• What is the approximate percentage of time you spend in your desk learning? 
• What changes would you like to see in your school and why do they matter to you? 
• What feedback do you have for me to help make our schools more equitable and inclusive? 

Kriger said the district receives anonymous data that comes from the Ministry, such as the Foundational Skills Assessment (FSA) and How Are We Doing Report. “But its those questions that are happening in those interviews where you actually get to see a child face to face, and feel that emotion, and hear those emotions. It is a way to humanize, literate, and actually bring healing to kids as they are able to tell their story.”

Of the schools visited so far (ALF, SAS, JLJ, SMS and Storefront):

• Feeling unsafe in washrooms seems to be a common theme. This seems to centre around discomfort versus “safety.” Students seem to be seeking more opportunities to use single stall washrooms.
• Newcomers/immigrant students do not see themselves reflected in the culture or curriculum of the school. 
• Students identify the significant effort being made to incorporate Indigenous culture and support.
• Racist language is used and defended as “only a joke.”
• Homophobic slurs are prevalent toward students who identify as gender or sexually diverse. Gender specific washrooms are not deemed to be emotionally safe places.
• Storefront students value the opportunity to move through courses at their own pace and appreciate the connections they have with staff.

Advocacy – Kriger noted SD83, along with all the school districts in the Thompson Okanagan Branch, are participating in an awareness campaign for Red Dress Day on May 5 entitled We Remember You – Missing, Murdered, and Mourned. “We pause and pay respect to the thousands of Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people who have been subject to disproportionate violence in Canada.”

Upcoming – Kriger mentioned some events that are coming up in the district, including the Shuswap Youth Launch, a leadership session organized by youth for youth. Coming up on April 27 it is a one-day, local and virtual, youth empowerment day. Local youth, both in person and virtually, get to experience inspiring speakers in a fun inclusive environment, and help broaden youth perspectives.  “I’m sure this will have a huge impact on our students.” Also coming up, the Indigenous Education Department is offering a Ribbon Skirt Workshop on Saturday, April 22. Then, early next week, three local students will be taking part in the provincial Public Speaking Competition for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. There will be an American Sign Language (ASL) event and an Oral Speaking event.

District Celebrations – Congratulations to Scarlett Verbeek, a Grade 10 student at Pleasant Valley Secondary School. Her short story was chosen as one of the works to be featured in the Lonely Planet anthology! It will be published in an upcoming collection of Grade 9 – 12 short stories. Her story now advances to the final round of judging competition. Also, congratulations to Red Seal Chef and SAS instructor Nimmi Erasmus and the Salmon Arm Secondary Culinary Arts program for being invited to present at the first ever Farm to School B.C. wide conference being held at the University of B.C. on May 17-19. Congratulations to Sam Muddiman and Kynan Dicker who took part in the Canadian High School Wrestling Championships in Vancouver, March 23-25! Kynan brought home a bronze medal and Sam finished sixth in his weight class! A third wrestler, Andrei Dumitrache of Salmon Arm Secondary, unfortunately had to withdraw from the national competition due to an injured hand. Thanks to all of their coaches, including Duane Kroeker, Greg Seed, and Gerry Beauregard, who helped the students make it to the nationals! As well, congratulations to SD83 employee Donna Spelay, who along with her team, was inducted into the Thompson Rivers University Hall of Fame for her play with the 1975-76 Cariboo College women’s basketball team. This was the first time a team had been inducted.

Indigenous Education Update
Director of Instruction Chelsea Prince updated the Board on the Indigenous Education Department, commenting much of the statistics comes from the recent How Are We Doing report. She noted that as of the end of September when the Ministry’s student data collection takes place, SD83 had 1,344 students who self-identify as Indigenous. Approximately 100 of these students live on-reserve and the rest live off reserve.

Prince noted that one question that comes out of the enrolment data is why there are some students who identified as Indigenous at some point in their educational journey didn’t continue to identify as Indigenous. She explains that if students self-identify they are contacted by the school’s Indigenous Education Worker (IEW) to be a part of the Indigenous Education program. So, she says, they have some work to do to see if some families are choosing not to be a part of the program, whether it is just being missed during the verification process (which must be completed each year due to Ministry audit requirements), or whether there is another reason.

After going through data with trustees, Prince said some areas of celebration are that the five‐year completion rate for Aboriginal learners has increased 14.5 percentage points from 56.5% in 2017/18 to 71.0% in 2021/22. The rate for non‐Aboriginal learners has increased 7.0 percentage points from 80.8% in 2017/18 to 87.8% in 2021/22.

The six‐year completion rate for Aboriginal learners has increased 13.2 percentage points from 67.1% in 2017/18 to 80.3% in 2021/22. The rate for non‐Aboriginal learners has increased 2.4 percentage points from 86.6% in 2017/18 to 89.0% in 2021/22.

Also, the six‐year completion rate without Adult Dogwood (Adjusted Rate) for Aboriginal learners has increased 15.4 percentage points from 58.6% in 2017/18 to 74.0% in 2021/22.

She added that areas which require attention include that at the Grade 4 & 7 literacy and numeracy assessment, there is a persistent gap in achievement. “There is trouble moving forward when you are already starting from behind. We definitely have work to do.”

“Our communities are telling us we need to quit pushing their children through,” added Prince.

The Grade 4 Reading/Literacy assessment: 95% of Aboriginal learners participated in 2017/18 compared to 97% in 2021/22. Persistent gap in On Track & Extending between Aboriginal and Non‐Aboriginal learners in 2021/22 (65% vs. 70%). In the Grade 4 Numeracy assessment: 95% of Aboriginal learners participated in 2017/18 compared to 94% in 2021/22. Persistent gap in On Track & Extending between Aboriginal and Non‐Aboriginal learners in 2021/22 (57% vs. 61%).

In the Grade 7 Reading/Literacy assessment: 84% of Aboriginal learners participated in 2017/18 compared to 95% in 2021/22. Persistent gap in On Track & Extending between Aboriginal and Non‐Aboriginal learners in 2021/22 (62% vs. 71%). In the Grade 7 Numeracy assessment: 84% of Aboriginal learners participated in 2017/18 compared to 95% in 2021/22. Persistent gap in On Track & Extending between Aboriginal and Non‐Aboriginal learners in 2021/22 (44% vs. 60%).

Part of the work, added Prince, is building professional capacity in educators. On Friday, April 28 is the collaboratively planned SD83 Indigenous focused Ministry designated day. The theme for the day is supporting each student to graduate with dignity, purpose, and options. “This year we are holding a district-wide learning event at Shuswap Middle School for elementary level staff, and at Salmon Arm Secondary for middle/secondary staff. Our planning team is very excited about our day of learning together.”

Staff will attend in school groups and the organizers are providing “provocations for learning”, comments Price. Learning provocations are activities or experiences to boost engagement, promote thought, and investigation.

There will also be a time for smaller break out sessions, which will include many multi-media workshops along with in-person options including a Knowledge Keeper Circle, Secwepemcstin Language Introduction, an orientation of the local aquatic ecosystems and activities/topics to explore with students, Indigenous Perspectives on Trauma in Schools, incorporating traditional plants and practices in the classroom, Inuit Games and Lacrosse, Contemporary Indigenous Musicians, Circle of Courage, and many more.

Prince said another part of the day, and one she is most excited about, is that there will be a group of returning Indigenous graduates who will talk to the group about what worked well for them in school, what didn’t, and what advice they have. “That’s the part I’m most excited about. I think it will be very powerful.”

Prince also noted that on May 2 the school district, Indigenous Education Department and DPAC will be hosting a parent information session on the Indigenous graduation credit, which will be mandatory to graduate for students graduating in 2024.

SEE PRESENTATION HERE
CLICK HERE FOR POSTER ON UPCOMING SESSION ON INDIGENOUS GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

Education Directions
Chair VanBuskirk reports two topics were discussed at the most recent Education Directions meeting. The first presentation was by Director Prince and was on anti-racism and two Ministry resources, an Action Plan and K-12 Anti-Racist Education Across The Curriculum Resource Guide. The second item discussed was on Communicating Student Learning and the new reporting strategies coming out for the 2023-24 school year. This was prepared by Directors Jen Findlay and Reid Findlay and presented by Reid Findlay. These new reporting strategies will be the focus of the in-service day on September 5, 2023.

Finance & Facilities/Audit Committee
Chair Amanda Krebs reported the committee discussed the budget and capital plan bylaw (reported above) at its meeting. She said SD83 is waiting for information on the greenway project with the City of Salmon Arm so that will hopefully be available to come to the next Board meeting. She noted the committee went over the lead content in drinking water report and the work that has been ongoing on around that. They also discussed the work being done by the environmental advisory working group.

Committee of the Whole
Chair VanBuskirk noted there will be committee of the whole meetings on April 25 at 3 p.m. and May 10 at 3:30 p.m. These meetings will be recorded and posted on the SD83 website.

B.C. School Trustees’ Association (BCSTA) Update
VanBuskirk reported that on March 30 she took part in one of the virtual orientation trustee sessions entitled Working With People, which featured staff from B.C. Public Sector Employers’ Association as well as BCSTA’s labour relations department. “I recommend that one. It is a good one.” On April 13 she took part in the session, Relations With First Nations, which she described as full of rich learning and she highly recommends it. She noted that Trustees can access the recordings of the virtual orientation sessions through the BCSTA Hub.
The BCSTA annual general meeting is next week, April 27-29. Local trustees will be attending to meet with other trustees, hear guest speakers, attend workshops, and vote on motions.

FNEC update
A First Nations’ Education Council meeting was held on April 12. Director Prince reported that under discussion was the April 28 Ministry designated day and noted there were two members of the council on the planning committee for this day. She added Superintendent Donna Kriger updated the Council on the work being done on the strategic plan. Also, at the final FNEC meeting for the year in June, there will be a Knowledge Keepers Tea either before or after the meeting.

Trustee Reports
VanBuskirk reported she attended the online strategic planning meeting on March 15 and added that it was interesting how each session she attended featured different rich conversation. She commented the online session had a strong focus on environment and climate change and what schools can do. She thanked staff, particularly Superintendent Kriger, for all of the hard work that went into these sessions. “It made for lots of late evenings and lots of nights on the road.”
She also reported on an International Student Program event and pot luck she attended. “It was a great evening with lots of stories, sharing, and good food from many countries. It was quite the evening.” She expressed thanks to organizers Chris Davidson, Mishel Quaal, and Sandra Rhodes.

Upcoming Dates
Tuesday, April 25 at 3 p.m. at the DESC – Committee of the Whole Meeting (2023-24 budget discussion)
Friday, April 28 – National Day of Mourning
Wednesday, May 10 – Committee of the Whole Meeting at 3:30 p.m. (2023-24 budget discussion) at the DESC
Tuesday, May 16 – Regular Board Meeting at 6 p.m. at the DESC