Board Budget Information

Lady Evelyn Alternative School Council

February 2002 Newsletter

Web Page: http://www.ladyevelyn.ca

Mailing List: ladyevelyn@ladyevelyn.ca

Council Co-chair: Richard Deadman -- 231-5112

Special Joint Council/Staff Meeting

Proposed School Board Budget Impact Discussion

Tuesday, February 12^th, 2002 at 3:00 - 5:00 P.M.

Afternoon Meeting - Babysitting Provided

•How will cancelling all buses affect you?
•What will happen to special education programs in our school?
•How will our classrooms support "special education" students who no longer qualify?
•What schools may be closed?
•What does this mean for our 8:00 start time?
•Are Alternative Schools Threatened?

Also: Alfie Kohn video discussion "The Trouble with Rewards", and a presentation by Summit Alternative School (Grades 7 & 8).

Agenda:

•Video and Discussion on "Rewards": 3:00 - 3:45
•Council Plans: 3:45 - 4:00

•Math Day planning
•Emergency Lunch Programme
•Alfie Kohn Seminar bus rental

•Summit Alternative School (7 & 8) Presentation: 4:00 - 4:10
•Budget Impact Discussion: 4:10 - 5:00 (Note: our teachers may not be able to take part in all of this discussion for professional reasons)

Alternative Education is all about parental involvement - come out and get involved!

Board Budget Information

There has been a lot in the papers this week about the board budget, but here are some interesting numbers:

•Since 1998 the provincial government has reduced our school board's budget by $93 million, not including a final $30 million this year
•Inflation and student growth have increased the boards costs over this time by about $67 million
•The board spends less on transportation, building maintenance and administration that the government gives them money for
•The province funds based on a board workforce of 6,184 but the board only has 5,919 staff
•The province bases its salary levels on 5 years ago, so that even though our board's teachers earn around the provincial average, the province under-funds salaries by $26 million
•Large sections of the provincial grant to the board cannot be used for anything other than their intended purpose
•Since proceeds from closed schools cannot be put towards the budget, the only benefit of closing schools is the heating, lighting and cleaning
•The proposed budget put together by board staff hits special education, busing and staffing hard since these are the only areas left were any significant money can be cut
•The proposed budget is only a board staff recommendation. Trustees must go over it and decide what to do with it. It could be amended or not passed at all. Our trustee, Lynn Graham, has been actively consulting with school councils for feedback and advice. Come to the council meeting and let your voice be heard
•Janet Ecker (Minister of Education) may be reached at janet_ecker@ontla.ola.org or by mailing her at Mwat Block, Queen's Park, Toronto, M7A 1L2

News and Reports

Education Committee

The Education Committee, including both staff and parents/guardians, has been working on strengthening our Alternative Programme. Work is being done on a new Homework policy that will see Homework become more integrated into a child's after school life. If you have any questions, contact the Education Committee (David Dean at XXX-XXXX) or come to the next Education Committee meeting.

Council Budget

The council currently has around $6,000 in reserves and voted at the last meeting to spend $800 to bring in "Blues in the School" (Thanks Kim for arranging this), $1000 for "Mad Science", and a further $1000 for Flying Phil. We have also earmarked $100 to support Math Day on March 1^st.

The number of special events that the school and council have been able to bring in so far this year, such as swimming, Clarinet rentals, NAC quartets, etc., is really amazing. But it takes money. If you would like to help on the fundraising committee or just donate to the council, please contact Sue Hollingsworth at XXX-XXX.

Alfie Kohn Seminar

Alfie Kohn is a prominent educator who has interesting ideas about education, how children our motivated and why grading and testing may not work. These ideas support our schools philosophy of creating lifelong learners through stimulation and child-directed learning.

Alfie Kohn is coming to the Congress Centre on February 21^st to talk about "Standards and Testing: Challenging the Myths". This rare treat is being organized by several groups in Ottawa, including the Alternative Schools Advisory Committee. This talk also ties in nicely with out ongoing programme of "Alternative Awareness" that includes advertising and "movie nights".

Tickets for Alfie Kohn are available through your school council. Please contact either Richard Deadman at 231-3150 or Cathy Robinson at XXX-XXX.

Volunteerism

Finally, a thank you to all the staff, parents and guardians who have been volunteering is so many ways to make Lady Evelyn the great school it is. Whether it is in Choir, Pizza Lunches, skating on the canal, community breakfasts, in-class help, fundraising, T-shirts, sports, health, social, yard, swimming, Holiday Fair, and so on, your help is really appreciated by the kids. There's too many names to list - you know who you are.