Announcements

The Board made important announcements to start the meeting.

Board Chair Rod Ross announced the Board observe 215 seconds of silence to acknowledge, remember, and honour the 215 children who lost their lives at the Kamloops Residential School.

Board Chair Rod Ross announced the District’s Be An Ally T-shirt initiative which took place in the lead up to Pride Month in June. He explained staff throughout the District will be wearing the Be An Ally T-shirts to celebrate members of the LGBTQ+ community in the District.

Board Chair Rod Ross announced Langley Grad Week which is expected to take place next week. He described it is an opportunity to recognize and honour grads. Ross outlined the support from community partners including the Township of Langley, City of Langley, and called on the public to support this initiative.

Superintendent’s Reports

COVID-19 Update

Superintendent Gord Stewart provided an update on COVID-19 notifications. To date, there have been 303 cases in 42 sites. Uplands Elementary is the one school site which has not had a case. Stewart thanked administration, teachers, staff, students, and parents for all their hard work over the last year regarding health and safety. He noted in the month of June there have been no notifications. He commented on the success of vaccinations. The Willoughby community has had the highest number of cases among all neighbourhoods. He explained how the province’s lifted restrictions does not change the guidelines in education. He says the current guidelines will continue through the Summer. He touched on grad and year-end celebrations and how they will look different due to guidelines. He reiterated the loosening of provincial restrictions and how it does not impact guidelines in education settings. The COVID-19 notification process will carry through to Summer Session. He explained the District will continue to take direction from Fraser Health and notify families and share instructions regarding COVID-19 during Summer Session. He shared considerations for Fall, including new health and safety regulations, semester system for secondary, access to school facilities, confidence in face-to-face learning. He shared lessons learned such as improved health and safety standards, ways to communicate, outdoor opportunities, among other themes. He mentioned the importance of communications over the last year with an update expected in the coming weeks.

Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the update on COVID-19 for information, as presented.

The Board approves the report as presented. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

Strategic Plan Update

Superintendent Gord Stewart provided an overview of the District’s Strategic Plan. As he explained, it is a document that guides the District’s work in providing education for all students. He covered the general framework of the Strategic Plan. The document includes Educational Opportunities, Community Partnerships, and Operational Priorities. He listed many themes including Intellectual Development, Literacy and Numeracy Guides, Early Years Visions, Compassionate Learning Communities, Mental Health Literacy, Six-Year Transition Rates, Capstone, and Digital Literacies, and many more. He closed the presentation commenting on how the District’s plan will continue to support for physical, emotional, and mental well-being of students.

Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the update of the Strategic Plan for information, as presented

The Board approves the report as presented. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

Secretary-Treasurer’s Reports

2021-2022 Annual Budget Bylaw (Third and Final Reading)

Secretary-Treasurer Brian Iseli provided an overview of the annual budget bylaw. He also mentioned as part of the budget process, the District hosted a virtual Budget Open House which brought forward three questions from the public.

In follow-up to the last Board meeting, the District is at a deficit budget of $3.3 million, meaning the District will be recommending using $3.3 million of the accumulated surplus to balance the 2021-2022 budget.

Recommendation: That the Board of Education directs staff to appropriate $3,321,891 consisting of $812,602 of Internally Restricted to balance future budgets, $117,000 from Internally Restricted for infrastructure replacement and $2,392,289 from Internally Restricted for COVID-19 contingency to balance the operating fund for 2021/2022.

Recommendation: That the School District No. 35 (Langley) 2021/2022 Annual Budget Bylaw in the amount of $274,810,378 be given third reading, passed and adopted on this 15th day of June 2021.

The Board approved all of the above motions. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

School Site Acquisition Charge (SSAC)

Secretary-Treasurer Brian Iseli updated the Board on the plan to review the School Site Acquisition Charge (SSAC). He explained the School Site Acquisition Charge falls under the Local Government Act. He says the purpose of the charge is to collect funds from new developments which can be used to buy land for capital projects in the future. The charge is collected by the City of Langley and Township of Langley on the District’s behalf. He mentioned the last review completed by the District was in 2014, and the plan is for the District to review this as part of its capital plan. He outlined development and student projections and provided a comparison of the charge in other districts. He explained next steps as part of the process which includes the Board adopting eligible school sites, notifying the City of Langley and Township of Langley, and collecting feedback from the public. He explained the steps required in the process.

Recommendation: That the Board of Education serves Notice of Motion to the District’s education community and its education partner groups that it intends to approve the Eligible School Sites resolution at the September 21, 2021 Regular Board Meeting.

The Board approved the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

5 Year Capital Plan Response Letter

Secretary-Treasurer Brian Iseli provided an overview of the process of the Five-Year Capital Plan Response Letter. The plan covers all Ministry Capital related programs. He provided a brief summary of some ongoing and future capital projects.

Recommendation: That the School District No. 35 (Langley) receive for information the update on the (Capital Plan 2021/2022) Capital Bylaw No. 2021/2022-CPSD35-01

The Board approved the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

Committee Reports

Finance and Facilities Committee

Aldergrove Middle and Secondary Schools: Enhancing Educational Opportunities

Assistant Superintendent Woody Bradford started the presentation by thanking all the administrators and staff involved in developing the plan. He reflected on the Middle School Consultation from 2019 and thanked the community for their engagement as it helped with the development of this plan. He noted the District learned a lot about the needs in the Aldergrove Campus. He said this plan is a result of the Board motion to create a strategy that would create equity for students. Feedback from the consultation included enhancing educational opportunities, strengthening the community, and providing health and well-being support for students.

Aldergrove Community Secondary Vice-Principal Greg Kilvert introduced himself as a former BGMS teacher. He provided some insights on what the middle school experience is currently like for students, which includes walking across campus for explorations at ACSS. He outlined the benefits of the plan for Betty Gilbert students. He explained the plan will provide students more explorations opportunities at their own school, opportunities to build stronger relationships with teachers at Betty Gilbert, and a more streamlined process in communicating student needs among staff.

Betty Gilbert Middle Principal Jonathan Harris elaborated on explorations programming at BGMS. He presented new opportunities available in September which include Robotics and Guitar for grade 6s and 7s. He explained the addition of a new triple wide portable to be used for explorations space. He touched on nine different explorations programming available for grade 8s at ACSS.

Aldergrove Community Secondary Principal Mike Palichuk explained Betty Gilbert students will be taking physical health education classes at ACSS. He said the plan gives students an opportunity to build stronger relationships with PHE teachers over two years. He referred to PHE teachers as life coaches who will help support student health and social emotional well-being. He admitted the plan will be a change for students and so staff will be monitoring and listening to student feedback throughout the year.

Betty Gilbert Vice-Principal Claire Burns added the plan has been created with scheduling and programming in place to ensure all aspects of students are being supported. She emphasized the plan included a wide range of opportunities for students to explore who they are and not just the “education content.”

Aldergrove Community Secondary Principal Mike Palichuk expanded on the changes related to athletic programming and infrastructure. He talked about new murals painted on ACSS gymnasium walls and how they have already had a positive impact on current ACSS students.

Assistant Superintendent Woody Bradford explained the addition of Fit Core, an outdoor athletic centre being installed on Aldergrove campus. He noted it will be used in PHE programming and will be accessible to all students. He says the intent of the plan is to support the needs of all students. He closed the presentation by reviewing the financial details of the plan.

Recommendation: That the Board of Education of School District No. 35 (Langley) approves the restriction of $582,200 for implementation of educational enhancements to programming and staffing at the middle and secondary level in the Aldergrove region from the $1,007,004 internally restricted funds for infrastructure replacement; and requests staff to proceed to implement the plan.

The Board approved the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

Electric Buses

Secretary-Treasurer Brian Iseli outlined the District’s plan to purchase two electric buses. Iseli explained the background on the purchase of the buses and the costs. As he noted, it costs $95,000 to purchase an electric bus. He mentions this plan will require the District to build charging stations for the buses. Iseli says the cost savings is $12,000 per year.

Recommendation: That the Board of Education of School District No. 35 (Langley) approves the restriction of $200,000 for the purchase of 2 electric buses from the $1,007,004 Internally Restricted for infrastructure replacement.

The Board approved the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

New Business

No new business.

Trustee Comments

Question Period