Staff
Despite receiving a one-year reprieve regarding campus classification for Fort Frances High School and J.W. Walker School, the Rainy River District School Board is writing to the education minister expressing its concerns for next year, it was noted at Tuesday night’s regular meeting.
As per the Ministry of Education, the definition of a campus is “property or properties owned, leased, or rented by a school board that are linked by a continuous property line.”
Each campus is to have one Campus ID, meaning Fort Frances High School and J.W. Walker School have been re-classified to have the same Campus ID as a result of the shared property line.
This affects the School Foundation Grant, which supports the principal, vice-principal, secretary, and office supplies based on the Campus ID.
As a result of these two schools sharing the same Campus ID, the School Foundation Grant considers this campus to be one school, therefore resulting in the loss of funding for one principal.
“Our concern lies with the message that this loss of funding sends regarding the vital role of the school principal in the effort to improve student achievement and well-being,” stated the letter signed by board chair Michael Lewis.
In addition to a reduction in the school office funding, the campus classification also has resulted in the loss of school council funding for one of the schools.
“School councils play an important role in the Rainy River District School Board by providing a forum through which parents and other members of the school community can contribute to improving student achievement and school performance,” the letter noted.
Lewis requested, on behalf of the board, immediate correction to these funding issues.
And while funding is reinstated for this year, the board will push to have it permanently restored.
Also at Tuesday night’s meeting, the board:
•recognized Doris Barton, Nancy Gillon, Scott Doherty, William Fisher, and Carmen Williamson for 25 years of service;
•recognized Brian Carlson as Bus Driver of the Year;
•recognized Lynn Lund and Jolene Bonnema as Volunteers of the Year;
•approved the following policies for stakeholder consultation: Field Trips, Donations to the Board, Investments, Extra-Curricular Activities, and Trustee Code of Conduct;
•approved the Honeywell Service Agreement for a five-year term ending Aug. 31, 2017;
•approved the 2-12-13 budget in the amount of $47,284,196;
•approved the Joint Transportation Policy;
•approved the annual appointment of the external auditors to BDO for the 2011-12 fiscal year; and
•deferred its decision on Donald Young School until subsequent pupil accommodation reviews are completed.
