June 18th, 2013

Director’s Update

Waterloo Region District School Board – Committee of the Whole Meeting

A Committee of the Whole meeting of the Waterloo Region District School Board was held in the Education Centre Board Room, Building 2, 1st Floor, 51 Ardelt Avenue, Kitchener, Ontario, on Monday, June 17, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. The agenda and reports for this meeting are available on the Board’s website by clicking here.

No delegations appeared at this meeting.

Reports
Engagement Strategy – Final Report (For Approval)
The final report for the Board’s Engagement Strategy and Plan was presented to trustees. It is important to note that the outcome of the work effort has resulted in a series of recommendations and a high-level implementation plan. It is understood that while these have been developed based on both best practices and the consultant’s insights into the Board and its various stakeholder groups, implementation will be at the discretion of the Board of Trustees.

Trustees approved the following recommendation:

That the Waterloo Region District School Board develop an engagement policy to include the Engagement Framework for use by all staff and;
That the Waterloo Region District School Board staff develop an implementation plan and;
That a progress report be provided to the Board at the first Committee of the Whole meeting in December 2013.

Hiring of Male Teachers (For Approval)
The report provides a detailed respond to the trustee motion directing staff to:

“review and report on trends in the hiring of male teachers by the Board for the last five years, and to report back to the Board by June 24, 2013, with the initiatives currently in place to attract and recruit male teachers, how effective the initiatives have been and what their recommendations are on future initiatives to attract, recruit and retain male teachers.”

Trustees approved the following recommendation:

That Waterloo Region District School Board staff review current hiring practices pertaining to male Elementary Teachers;
That an update of this work shall be provided to Trustees during the 2013-2014 school year.

Capital Projects Revised Approval Westmount Public School (For Approval)
The purpose of this report is to seek a revised Board approval for the rebuild of Westmount Public School due to the Ministry’s indication to staff that renewal dollars may not be spent in the desired manner. It requires trustees to approve the motion below so that staff may proceed with an alternate funding plan which would see funds from Proceeds of Disposition used instead of School Renewal funds, as originally requested on March 18, 2012.

Trustees approved the following recommendation:

That the Waterloo Region District School Board approve the expenditure of an additional $2,000,000 from the Proceeds of Disposition account bringing the total use of Proceeds of Disposition to $7,600,000 towards the rebuild of Westmount Public School to tentatively be completed for September 2015; and
That the Waterloo Region District School Board seek the required additional spending approval for the use of Proceeds of Disposition funds from the Ministry of Education.

2013-14 Budget Recommendations (For Approval)
The report and appendices  was circulated at the meeting for trustees to consider for the Special Committee of the Whole on Wednesday, June 19, 2013.

Trustees voted to receive the report tonight. The recommendations found in the report will be considered at the June 19 Special Committee of the Whole Meeting.

Annual Review of Board Policies 1002, 1004 and 1009 (For Approval)
The purpose of this report is to present, for consideration and approval, Board Policies 1002 – Occupational Health and Safety, 1004 – Harassment, and 1009 – Violence in the Workplace. These policies have been reviewed by staff to ensure compliance with the current Occupational Health and Safety Act. Over the past twelve (12) months there have been no changes to the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act that would impact these three (3) policies. Staff will be recommending that no changes be made to these Board policies.

Trustees approved the following recommendation:

That on the recommendation of the Policy & Bylaw Standing Committee, the Waterloo Region District School Board approve Board Policy 1002 – Occupational Health and Safety, Board Policy 1004 – Harassment, and Board Policy 1009 – Violence in the Workplace, as outlined in the report dated June 17, 2013.

 

Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 9:21pm.