Catholic board to discuss ‘ORION’

The Northwest Catholic District School Board will hold its monthly meeting today at 7 p.m. via videoconference and one of the issues on the agenda is access to ORION.
The Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network is a provincial initiative to establish a high-speed research network across the province linking post-secondary institutions, research facilities, and others groups for educational and research purposes.
At issue are the additional costs school boards in Northwestern Ontario must face to connect to this research network compared to their southern counterparts.
The closest link to this network here is Thunder Bay.
The board wants to address the need for equitable access to this network for online learning. A link to ORION would allow expanded e-learning capabilities for schools.
Also on the agenda for tonight’s meeting is a report on the audited financial statements of the board. One issue that was earmarked by the auditor, BDO Dunwoody, was the breakdown of board policy concerning dual signatures on cheques.
It was made clear all board expenditures were found to be legitimate ones, but it was recommended a greater effort be made to stick to the dual signature policy to prevent and deter any unauthorized payments.
The board also will announce tonight it has re-appointed BDO Dunwoody LLP of Dryden to be its auditor for the next five years. The firm—one of six bidding for the contract—was chosen due to its experience auditing the Ontario School Board and scheduling flexibility.
A weighting system, which focused on fees, public sector and Ontario School Board audit experience, and scheduling flexibility, was used.
The board also will discuss the self-evaluation process begun in December, and hear reports from the Special Education Advisory Committee and the Native Advisory Committee among others.
Finally, the board will discuss the average class size report. The local Catholic board has an average class size below the provincial limit for both its JK-3 and JK-8 schools.