Board of Trustees Meeting
November 10, 2009

(Hanna, Alberta)

• Public Schools: Your Children, Our Students, Everyone’s Future
  
  The Board discussed the importance of public education in maintaining and strengthening the social and economic fabric of society. The Board wishes to share the following key messages regarding public education and the important role an inclusive, educational system plays in building a strong, resilient society:

  • Public schools are inclusive and diverse.
  • Public schools and communities support and sustain each other.
  • The best decisions are made locally.
  • Investment in public schools is an investment in our society.
  
  The Minister of Education has recently announced funding reductions to education for this school year. He has indicated further, more significant reduction next school year and beyond.
  
  Although the Board recognizes Alberta’s fiscal challenges, it also knows that an investment in public education is an investment in all of our futures. It is the strength of the public school system that keeps our society competitive, advanced, and economically strong in comparison to other less fortunate places.
  
  During challenging fiscal times, the Board encourages our government to invest in the educational infrastructure that builds Alberta so that Alberta is positioned well to improve our fiscal position as commodity prices rebound.
  
  Prairie Land’s funding was reduced by just under half a million dollars this year. The Board will look for the opportunities that exist at this time for strengthening our school system through improvements in the organization and delivery of programs across the division. The projected cuts to education will result in necessary changes to the way we do business here in Prairie Land and to how we deliver educational programming to our students.
  
  The Board is also reviewing feedback from our Engaging the Communities forums to ensure that reductions in spending are thoughtful, and that they do not strike at the core of our programming for students. Any decisions the Board makes will reflect our communities’ values, and will support and strengthen the learning priorities we set for our division and for each of our schools as best as we can within the resources we are given.

• Stop the Cuts
  
  The Board encourages our public to get involved and to participate in the Stop theCuts campaign sponsored by Alberta School Boards Association, the Alberta Teachers’ Association, and the Alberta School Council’s Association. This campaign is intended to inform the public. You can become a participant in this campaign by contacting your MLA or by going to http://www.stopthecuts.ca/ to communicate your support for public education.

• November 26 th Meeting of the Board of Trustees
  
  The second Board meeting in November will be held on November 26, 2009. The Board changed the meeting date from its original date of November 25 th to accommodate a scheduling change for Board Chair, Duane Roy, and Superintendent, Wes Neumeier, so they could attend a provincially scheduled meeting with Minister of Education. Mr. Hancock will be meeting with all Board Chairs and Superintendents to discuss further budget reductions that will occur in the 2010/2011 school year.

• Minister of Education’s Leadership Recognition Awards
  
  Vice-Chair, Elaine Horner, and Trustee Angie Warwick attended the MELRA awards on Friday, November 6 th to receive the Minister’s award to Prairie Land Regional Division for high achievement in high school completion rates, diploma examination participation, in the transition rates for students from high school to post secondary education, and in the practical arts. The Board credits our division’s high achievements in these areas to the leadership that is provided by its administrative staff both in our schools and at the district level, and to the skill, hard work, and the dedication of all of our staff, our students, parents, and educational partners who work together to support student learning in a variety of ways. The importance our learning community places on education inspires all of our students to do their best in their studies. The Board thanks all of our learning partners.

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