Catholic board to move ‘cautiously’ this year

Although the school year is well underway, local Catholic school board trustees were told at their regular meeting here Saturday that many unknowns remain in the education system.
The topic came up during Education Director Paul Jackson’s report on staffing levels in schools across the board. He said enrolment levels were up slightly, noting an extra .5 teacher was hired for the junior kindergarten programs at both St. Michael’s School here and Sacred Heart in Sioux Lookout.
He also noted two schools reported having a class of more than 30 students each, which may require additional teaching support down the road.
“I’ll be monitoring the situation to see what we can do when we have definite funding,” Jackson said.
But the fact is many things remain uncertain, such as special education services. For now, the separate board agreed to staff its schools as needed and watch the government for more details.
“We’re moving into a kind of fog here for staffing and I recommend we move cautiously into it,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, a negotiation meeting between the board’s bargaining unit and members of the local teachers’ federation–the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association–has been set for this weekend.
Trustee Gerald Rousseau said although the teachers’ contracts in the board expired Aug. 31, it was agreed teachers would continue to work under the old one until a settlement is reached.
Local OECTA president Cathy Brindle was on hand for Saturday’s meeting. She said the negotiations with the board to date have been cheerful and productive.
In other board news:
•an audit on the former Dryden District RCSS Board revealed a surplus of $260,000, which went to the Northwest Catholic School Board;
•trustees approved a child abuse reporting protocol and protocol for reporting and investigating alleged abuse of a student by a board employee with the Kenora-Patricia Child and Family Services;
•trustees approved a board, lodging, and transportation stipend of $19.31 per day per student for families in the board living in isolated areas, with the policy to be reviewed later this year;
•Ted and Wanda Heyens were granted a contract for caretaking services for Our Lady of the Way School;
•trustees approved the implementation of the Middle School DARE program in grades seven and eight;
•trustees ratified the change of Helen McKay’s teaching status from part-time to full-time; teachers Susan Vandenbrand and Kim Savoie also were upgraded to full-time status;
•the appointments of John Cousineau and Donna Davidson as part-time teachers were ratified;
•Brenda Glenn, Patrick Tougas, and Tracy Wright had their appointments as full-time teachers ratified;
•David Sharp was designated the Teacher-in-Charge at Our Lady of the Way School, Darlene Fejos at St. Francis School, Solange Busch at St. Michael’s School, and Sheri-Lynn Burke at Sacred Heart School;
•the resignations of Catherine Macchi, Humberto Pacheco, and Julie Young-Pratte were accepted; and
•Elaine Morris was appointed to the position of secretarial assistant for five hours a week.