Denied
Good Spirit School division's insurance provider has cut off flood coverage for Yorkton Regional High School.
Sherry Todosichuk, the division's administration superintendent, reported to the board that Marsh Canada would not insure the school because of multiple flood claims.
She said they could re-apply if they fix a problem with the courtyard that allows water to collect there.
Trustee Bob Simpson raised concerns that there was a very good chance flooding could occur again in the spring. Todosichuk assured the board that the Ministry of Education is well aware of the problem and remediation funding may be available.
Additional EAL
The number of non-English speakers in the school division continues to grow.
Dwayne Reeve, director of education, revealed the new stats at the regular board meeting December 20 showing 45 additional English as an Additional Language students are enrolled for the 2012-2013 school year bringing the total to 174.
He said the schools are handling it well within the classroom and that immersion is the best way to integrate new Canadians.
Nevertheless, he said, if the trend continues the board will definitely need to increase resources.
Good deal
The GSSD board of trustees passed a motion to sell the former Angus Spice School to the Society for the Involvement of Good Neighbours (SIGN) for one dollar.
Sherry Todosichuk, superintendent of administration informed the board that the cost of demolishing the building would have been $100,000.
There are still some hurdles left, however. The property the building sits on belongs to the City and the Ministry of Education still has to sign off.
With the vote December 20, however, the trustees have cleared the path for the sale to go ahead.
SIGN has been leasing the building for years. The lease expired in 2011, but they have been leasing month-to-month pending this decision.
Accountability
When Good Spirit School Division unveiled its long-term strategic plan in September, one of the key elements was improved accountability. At the regular board meeting December 20, Norm Casavant, deputy director of education demonstrated new software the division will be using to track its progress in meeting all of its metrics as defined by the strategic plan.
The slick package will allow users to drill down to any task and see exactly where the division is.
And, it will be available online for the public soon.
No funding
The school division will not provide funding to the First Nations Language Committee until a formal partnership is established.
The school board has agreed to work with the committee to preserve indigenous languages in principle, but trustees were unwilling to make the commitment of money until a partnership agreement is in place.
The vote was prompted by a letter from the committee requesting funding.
