Board Meeting: February 25, 2025
The Board meeting for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board took place on February 25, 2025. Staff brought forward three reports with three recommendations for discussion.
Coming out of the Committee of the Whole, under the consent agenda, I voted in favour of the recommendations in Report 25-001, Proposed School Year Calendar 2025 to 2026. The regular school year calendar commences on or after September 2 and ends on or before June 30 within a minimum number of 194 school days in the calendar. This report outlines the 194 school days for the 2025 to 2026 elementary and secondary school year calendars for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. Staff incorporated three new Provincial Priority Professional Activity days and worked to align all Professional Activity days amongst elementary and secondary schools. In addition, staff worked with the other school board to align holiday breaks based on community feedback in previous years. The recommendations were carried.
Coming out of the Policy Review Committee, under the consent agenda, I voted in favour of the recommendations in Report 25-008, Revisions to Policy P.009.HR, Respectful Workplace and Harassment Prevention. This report sought approval of the revisions proposed to Policy P.009.HR Respectful Workplace and Harassment Prevention reflect the Board’s commitment to staff well-being as reflected in its 2023 to 2027 Strategic Plan. The main changes to the policy include simplifying the language in the policy, removing redundancy, and clarifying that not all complaints made under the investigation will warrant investigations. The recommendations were carried.
Coming out of the Policy Review Committee, under the consent agenda, I voted in favour of the recommendations in Report 25-010, Recission of Policy P.095 PLG Declaring, Decommissioning, and Disposal of Surplus Board Property and Procedure PR.613 PLG Declaration and Disposal of Surplus Board Property. The report sought approval for the rescission of Board Policy P.095 PLG Declaring, Decommissioning, and Disposal of Surplus Board Property and Procedure PR.613 PLG Declaration and Disposal of Surplus Board Property. The procedures were developed in response to Ontario Regulation 444/98 in 1999. In December of 2023, the acquisition and disposition of real property by a school board was governed by Ontario Regulation 374/23 which replaced the process set out in Ontario Regulation 444/98. As a result, the policy needs to be rescinded. The recommendations were carried.
Under new business on the agenda, I raised the following question that I received from the community:
Question: I have received a lot of inquiries about the decision to keep schools open during the snow event on Thursday, February 13, despite other school boards and major institutions remaining open. Can you please provide the reasoning for keeping schools open?
Answer: The decision to close schools is always complex. Our schools remaining open allowed us to support our front-line staff by looking after their children while they complete their important work.
Please note, that the opinions expressed here are entirely my own and do not reflect an official position of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board or the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board of Trustees. Please note answers from staff are paraphrased, the recording can be found here if you would like to watch the entire meeting. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me using my contact form here.
Key links
Video for the Committee of the Whole, Budget on February 25, 2025
Agenda for the Committee of the Whole, Budget on February 25, 2025
Report 25-001, School Year Calendar 2025 to 2026
Report 25-008, Revisions to Policy P.009.HR, Respectful Workplace and Harassment Prevention.
Report 25-010, Recission of Policy P.095 PLG Declaring, Decommissioning, and Disposal of Surplus Board Property and Procedure PR.613 PLG Declaration and Disposal of Surplus Board Property
