Board Meeting: February 27, 2024
The Board Meeting for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board took place on February 27, 2024. The Advisory Committee on Equity brought forward one presentation and staff brought forward four reports within the minutes from committees with five recommendations.
The Advisory Committee on Equity provides strategic policy and program advice on matters of diversity and is composed of a variety of community members. The Committee representatives brought forward an oral presentation highlighting the Committee's work in the past few years. The Committee reaffirmed their commitment to bring diverse voices to consultations on key projects. The Committee highlighted the need for additional time for consultations to bring diverse perspectives to the work of the District.
Coming out of the Committee of the Whole on February 6, 2024, I voted in favour of the recommendations in Report 24-006 for the Facilities Renewal Program and School Condition Improvement 2023 to 2024 Project Plan. This report is brought in front of the Board of Trustees on an annual basis and addresses the facility needs of the District. The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has a large portfolio of facilities including buildings and properties encompassing over 12 million square feet of space. Within the portfolio more than 80% of the spaces are over 20 years old and the estimated backlog of different renewal projects is approximately $896 million. The total combined Facilities Renewal Program and School Condition Improvement budget for 2023 to 2024 is just over $117 million. The recommended plan includes a variety of renewal projects including site, building envelopes, building interiors, mechanical, electrical, portables, environmental upgrades, and accessibility upgrades. These recommendations were added to the consent agenda and were carried.
Coming out of the Committee of the Whole on February 6, 2024, I voted in favour of the recommendation in Report 24-023 for the School Year Calendar: Key Dates. The regular school year calendar commences on or after September 1 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 2024 to 2025 elementary and secondary school year calendars for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. During the discussion, staff addressed my main concern around accounting for weather-related events in our examination periods. Staff routinely schedule examinations and assessments over 4 of the 5 days to allow for some flexibility. Historically, staff cannot recall a previous time when there were two days during an examination period with transportation cancellations. Moving forward, staff will be having further discussions to ensure there is greater flexibility around the examination days should it be needed. These recommendations were added to the consent agenda and were carried.
Coming out of the Ad Hoc Policy Committee on February 8, 2024, I voted in favour of the recommendation in Report 24-012 for Tier 2 Revisions to Policy P.071.CUR Indigenous Voluntary Self-Identification. Policy P.071.CUR establishes a process for Aboriginal Voluntary Self-Identification of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students. The revisions proposed in this report modernize the language in the policy and were developed in consultation with members of the Indigenous Education Council (IEC), Indigenous students and members of the Student Senate. These recommendations were added to the consent agenda and were carried.
Coming out of the Ad Hoc Policy Committee on February 8, 2024, I voted in favour of the recommendation in Report 24-016 for Revisions to Policy P.017.GOV Student Trustees and P.113.GOV Student Senate. At the Board Meeting on October 30, 2023, a motion to create an Indigenous Student Trustee position was passed. This report addresses the two policies affected by the creation of a new office of an Indigenous Student Trustee. The revisions proposed in this report update the language to reflect the changes, and modernize the language in the policy and were developed in consultation with members of the Indigenous Education Council (IEC), Indigenous students and the Student Senate. These recommendations were added to the consent agenda and were carried.
Coming out of the Advocacy Strategy Committee on February 13, 2024, I voted in favour of the recommendation to approve the six advocacy briefs on Capital Funding, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Protecting Schools from Cyberthreats, Replacement Worker Costs, Special Education, and Transportation. These advocacy briefs outline the issues faced by the District, funding gaps that currently exist and recommendations to address the issues. These briefs will be available on the District’s website and should be shared widely in the community. The recommendations were carried.
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 Board Meeting on February 27, 2024
Agenda for the Board Meeting on February 27, 2024
Report 24-006, Facilities Renewal Program and School Condition Improvement 2023 to 2024 Project Plan
Appendix A, 2023 to 2024 Facilities Renewal Program and School Condition Improvement Summary
Appendix B, 2023 to 2024 Facilities Renewal Program and School Condition Improvement Project List
Report 24-023, School Year Calendar: Key Dates
Report 24-012, Tier 2 Revisions to Policy P.071.CUR Indigenous Voluntary Self-Identification
Appendix A, Policy P.071.GOV Indigenous Voluntary Self-Identification
Appendix B, Policy P.071.CUR Indigenous Voluntary Self-Identification
Report 24-016, Revisions to Policy P.017.GOV Student Trustees and P.113.GOV Student Senate
Appendix A, Policy P.017.GOV Student Trustees
Appendix B, Policy P.017.GOV Student Trustees
Appendix C, Policy P.113.GOV Student Senate
Appendix D, Policy P.113.GOV Student Senate
Advocacy Briefs
