Committee of the Whole: February 6, 2024
The Committee of the Whole meeting for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board took place on February 6, 2024, with me as chair. Staff brought forward three reports with two recommendations.
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 differed 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. The recommendations were carried.
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 about 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. The recommendations were carried.
Report 24-014 with an Update on Student Learning and Preparation of Students for Future Success was brought forward for discussion. This report provides a second update on student learning, focused on program options, accessibility, achievement, credit accumulation, and graduation rates, as aligned with the Ministry of Education's direction to monitor students' preparation for future success. Some statistics that stood out to me in the report is that 50% of students in Grades 7 to 12 felt that their school experience was preparing them for post-secondary education. This is the second out of three reports on student learning. We are expecting the next report to come to the Committee of the Whole in March or April.
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 on February 6, 2024
Agenda for the Committee of the Whole on February 6, 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 24-014, Update on Student Learning and Preparation of Students for Future Success
Appendix A, Ministry of Education Student Achievement Plan
Appendix B, 2022 to 2023 Student Learning Update
Appendix C, Technical Considerations & Supplemental Tables
Appendix D, Student Voice Matters
Appendix E, Pathway Programming Descriptions
