Separate school board passes budget

The Northwest Catholic District School Board will invest some $130,000 in several funds in order to balance its 2000-2001 budget, which was passed at its regular monthly meeting here last night.
With a balanced budget of $10,487,051, the board will place $113,987 in a reserve for classroom expenditures.
This amount must be spent on future classroom expenditures, which the board anticipates using to add teaching staff to enhance early literacy in the primary grades, and use any remaining surplus to partially offset an unfunded teacher retirement liability of about $600,000.
Meanwhile, a surplus of $34,886 in the non-classroom area has been placed in a non-capital reserve with the intent of funding non-teaching requirement costs.
In other news, trustees voted last night once again have three days scheduled where students will be dismissed early to allow teachers extra preparation time in lieu of professional development days, which the Ministry of Education reduced from nine to four last year.
The decision came after a recommendation from the Curriculum Council West.
Tentative dates for the early dismissal are Sept. 27 and Nov. 29, 2000 and April 4, 2001, Children will get out of class about 90 minutes early on these days.
It is anticipated the November and April dates will be used for reporting to parents while the September one will facilitate curriculum planning and implementation.
The local public school board also is likely to approve early dismissal on these three days so as to facilitate busing as well as any joint professional development activities.
In personnel moves, Jocelyn Kawahara is switching from part-time to full-time teacher at St. Joseph’s in Dryden, teacher Patrick Tougas is transferring from St. Francis to Our Lady of the Way, and Lorna Indian is resigning as Native Studies language teacher at OLW.
Donna Davidson (part-time teacher at OLW), Cheryl Harrison (teacher at St. Joseph’s), and OECTA president Marilyn Tinkess are all taking a leave of absence.
Cheryl Wilson has been appointed secretary at the board office here, Yvonne Langlais as part-time custodian, and Cathy Gruttner as secretary at St. Michael’s.