Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division trustees were expecting to conduct their regular monthly business session in Estevan on the night of Feb. 12, rather than at their usual location in Weyburn, but nasty weather conditions and reduced visibility on the highways prevented that from happening. The storm prevented the majority of trustees from travelling so there were not enough of them to form a quorum.
But the 10th annual general meeting for the Catholic school division, also slated for Estevan that same night, did proceed on schedule albeit with the reduced trustee roster consisting of two Estevan trustees and one from a nearby subdivision.
Karen Melle, who serves as vice-chairwoman for the board, as well as being one of the Estevan trustees, accepted the role of chairwoman for the AGM with the approval of Estevan trustee Bev Hickie and Subdivision No. 3 trustee Robert Cossette.
Gwen Keith, the director of education and Christine Arnett, vice-president of finance, who had avoided the stormy conditions by arriving in Estevan earlier in the day, were able to present their reports during the public session following a meeting with the Sacred Heart School Community Council.
The AGM was held in the library at Sacred Heart following the working session with the SCC.
Keith noted that 80 per cent of the Holy Family students are reading at the approved grade level or above. She also said that the Student First programs are meeting the expectations of the new provincial sector plan, which is an aggressive one, and in fact Holy Family was more than ready to meet the provincial target, although there were some concerns that the provincial edict is still somewhat vague.
She said she expected that by the official start date, the sector plan will be clear and the boards will be ready to either accept or reject it then. Keith mentioned that the clarity of roles for administration needed to be established yet and there were hopes that the provincial plan will accept the measurements Holy Family was already employing.
"In terms of readiness, we should be OK. It's just the role clarification we need and then what kind of budget will we have for it," Keith said, adding that the division had spent a lot of time planning.
On the financial side, Arnett reported the operational grant for the fiscal year has been set at $5.9 million for the five-school, 1,100 student system. The division has also improved its financial status from a deficit situation to a surplus mode over the past year.
A one-time capital grant of $835,000 for portable classrooms and finalizing their installation was included in the previous year, she said.
Arnett also noted that over $105,000 in fundraising revenue from school community councils is part of the annual financial report.
The portable classroom addition at Sacred Heart School came in at $431,000, she noted and the division spent $36,000 in computer hardware and updates and another $46,000 for playground equipment and over $100,000 for pre-kindergarten equipment and materials.
Sacred Heart principal Mary Ellen Barreth said that school's current enrollment is 285 with a near equal split between English and French immersion students. Sacred Heart is the only elementary school in Estevan that offers French language classes from kindergarten to Grade 8.
Following a brief question and answer period that focused on potential growth requirements at Sacred Heart School to accommodate expected enrollment increases due to subdivision development on the north side of Estevan, the meeting adjourned.
