Good News Items
- Vice-Chair Cheryl Edwards attended a recent school council meeting at Bonnyville Centralized High School and commented that there is increased parent involvement as well as great enthusiasm and support for the school.
- Trustee Lois Phillips was honoured to attend the Honouring the MMEIP and Stolen CHildren event hosted by the Bonnyville Friendship Centre on Oct. 4th. She was impressed by the positivity and spirit of healing.
- Trustee Garry Kissel congratulated Glendon School student Taylor Martin on being re-appointed the Minister's Youth Council, and Cadence Kissel on being selected as an NLPS Student Shining Star.
- Nicole Garner, Communications and Public Relations Manager, presented Good News items from schools throughout the division. The full presentation is available on our website: Good News - October 23, 20224
Out of School Care Report
Lorrie Makepeace, Director of Learning - K to 6 Instructional Support, provided the Board with an update on the division's daycare, preschool, and out of school care programs.
There are currently 190 students enrolled in preschool throughout the division, with 60 receiving support through the division's Little Lights program. There are also 120 attending Out of School Care programming.
The programs are in high demand and are beneficial for children and families. The preschool programs help ease the transition to Kindergarten, and are convenient for families who have children enrolled in other grades at the same school.
One of the biggest challenges impacting the programs is space. The government does not provide funding for preschool or out of school spaces in schools. When new schools are built, space is not allocated for preschool programs. Additionally, when schools experience enrollment growth, they may need the space that is being used for preschool programs to accommodate students in other grades. This can make it difficult to sustain programming over a long period of time with no funding available to create new spaces or expand existing infrastructure.
Enrollment Report
Superintendent Rick Cusson provided the Board with an updated on the division's enrollment as of September 30th. In total the division has 5,811 students this year, which is a 0.8% reduction from last year and 2% less than projected in the spring. Some areas of the division are experiencing some growth while others are experiencing a decline in enrollment. Overall, Cusson noted the numbers are positive as many rural school divisions are experiencing declines in enrollment.
Transportation
The Board will be working with local communities to address issues impacting busing including road conditions and traffic bottlenecks. The Board's transportation committee discussed several local issues that are causing damage to buses and creating safety issues.
The committee is also discussing contingency plans to prepare for the possibility that contractors may not want to continue with their routes next year.
Policy 8 Update
The Board approved changes to Policy 8 - Committees of the Board. The updated Policy has been posted on the division's website.
Election 2025 Update
Secretary-Treasurer Paula Elock provided the Board with an overview of some of the preparation that is needed for the upcoming school board election in October 2025. Nominations can be accepted starting January 1 and campaigning can start on that date as well.
One major change that will be both time consuming and costly is that school boards are required to have their own electors list. Elock noted that since school division boundaries are not co-terminus with municipalities, NLPS won't be able to share lists with local municipalities and will need to create its own.