Boards of Education around the province are very concerned and frustrated with news reports issued by the Ministry that Boards have huge surpluses. We wish to let our communities know that even though our Board also shows a surplus for the 2013/2014 budget, most of these funds are restricted. Restricted funds are set aside for lease payments (computers), one-time purchases, collective agreement requirements, school-based grants and balancing the next year’s budget. This year we also used some of our surplus to fund support staff increases. These surpluses are normally restricted for specific purposes that we are saving for and otherwise may not be able to afford. We are very concerned when we hear from the Ministry that we now will have to use some of these funds for facilities upgrades.
Our Board also received a letter from the Ministry indicating that there will be no increase in per pupil funding for the 2014/2015 school year. As we all know, even though the funding stays the same, all of our costs are increasing so this will result in a very tight budget. We as your Board of Education work hard to ensure that our ever decreasing budget has the least impact possible on student learning. It is concerning because our district strives to be innovative and creative and yet we are always faced with the question of “how will we fund it?”. Preliminary predictions for enrollment for our 2014/2015 school year indicate that we will have a decrease in student enrollment of about 60 students. We want you as our partner groups and communities to advocate with us for predictable funding so that we can continue to do what is best for each and every student in our district in this tough economic climate.
We are very proud of Mr. Peter Gajda of Osoyoos Secondary School who is the recipient of the 2014 UBC Faculty of Applied Science McEwen Family Teacher Recognition Award. Mr. Gajda is a very well deserved recipient of this award. The award celebrates those who go above and beyond teaching the curriculum to ensure their students succeed not just academically but personally. Thank you Mr. Gajda for making a difference in our students’ lives.
This year our 6th annual pow wow is on April 25th and 26th at Southern Okanagan Secondary School. Grade 4’s and other Aboriginal students from across the district will participate on the Friday. Please check your local school’s newsletter for more detailed information. The event will start at 10 am on Friday and end Saturday evening.
We are very proud of Dalton Rose who placed first in Architectural CAD at the Provincial Skills Canada contest in Abbotsford. Dalton is a student of Mr. Langley at Osoyoos Secondary School and he will be travelling to Toronto, ON with support from the district to participate in the National Skills Contest. Good Luck Dalton!
The Board approved the final agreement between the Town of Osoyoos and the school district for effluent spray irrigation on Osoyoos Secondary School fields. Our Director of Facilities is also currently in negotiations with the Town of Oliver to secure a similar agreement with them.
We will once again be hosting our PAC chairs and some of our PAC committee members for a spring dinner meeting on May 28th at 5 pm at the Watermark Resort in Osoyoos. We appreciate collaborating with our partner groups from across the district. We are excited to have Dr. Stephen Berg (associate professor UBCO, Education) join us for an open meeting following the dinner meeting. He will be speaking about playground design, play and resilience. He is a very engaging speaker and we hope that all interested parents and community members will join us for this meeting. Dr. Berg will be speaking at 6.30 pm at the Watermark Beach Resort in Osoyoos.
Should you have any questions, please contact me at 250-498-1333
Submitted by Marieze Tarr, Chairperson
School District No. 53 (Okanagan Similkameen)