June 8, 2022 Board Meeting News

June 10th, 2022

Regional Office –

The board held its June 8 meeting in Swan Hills High School and trustees would like to thank the staff and students for their consideration and hospitality. The school administration took the board on a tour of the school which included an entertaining presentation by the school’s grades 4,5 & 6 handbell students. The board was impressed by the overall appearance of the school, and the warm welcome from the staff and students.

Facilities update report

Facilities Director Tracy Tyreman presented the board with an overview of the department’s structure and priorities. Mr. Tyreman presented this information through the context of the department’s mission statement to “maintain and upgrade our facilities to provide a safe and pleasing environment that continues to meet the education needs of our students and protects staff, property and the general public”. To this end he outlined his program for the upcoming year. 

The provincial Infrastructure Maintenance Grant (IMR) for the 2022-2023 school year worth  $501,573 will used to fund the following projects:

  • Busby School – Security system upgrade, grounds upgrades including sidewalks and landscaping, as well as interior projects including completing the new gym project and roofing
  • Barrhead Composite High School – Boiler repairs and electrical upgrades
  • R F Staples Secondary School – Science room upgrade
  • Barrhead Elementary School – Literacy room upgrade
  • Neerlandia Public Christian School – Playground surface installation

The provincial Capital Maintenance and Renewal (CMR) funding for 2022-2023  will be $372,835, which is a $171,000 reduction from the previous year. All CMR funding is allocated to the Busby Gym project and includes a carry forward allocation from previous years of $1.25M.

Video Conference – Ministers Youth Council

The board participated in a video conference with Grace Churchill, a Barrhead Composite High School student and a member of the Education Minister’s Youth Council. Ms. Churchill reported on the activities of the council and their interaction with the Minister. The Board congratulated Ms. Churchill on her accomplishments and wished her well as she continues on her career path.

Fee Amendments

Most educational programming costs for students are funded by Alberta Education. Unfortunately, students over the age of 20 as of the beginning of the school year are not eligible for provincial funding. Pembina Hills charges these students tuition fees to offset the costs of providing education. The board approved the proposed Student Fees schedule which includes the following: 

  • Community schools – Adult student per-credit course fee increase from $190.58 to $192.49 
  • Vista Virtual School – Adult student program fee increase from $135.00 to $140.00 per credit

The Board also approved the proposed increase in Rental & Shop Rates related to the Student Transportation department. Some cost increases were necessary to keep up with inflationary pressures. 

For more information, please see https://www.pembinahills.ca/our-division/policy-manual/rates-annex/

Board Meeting schedule

The 2022-2023 Board meeting schedule was approved, which provides for Board meetings to take place the second (2nd) and fourth (4th) Wednesday of each month, with the following exceptions: 

  • No meetings will be held in July 2022 
  • One meeting will be held in August 2022 which will be the Organizational meeting.
  • There will only be one meeting in the months of December 2022, January 2023 and March 2023 with these meetings taking place on the second Wednesday of the month.

Check out the board meeting agenda and minutes for more information. 

The next school board meeting will be held at Regional Office on June 22, 2022 starting at 9:00 a.m.