Regular Board Meeting: February 25, 2025
February 24, 2025
Agenda
The Regular Meeting of the Langley Board of Education was held in-person and streamed online.
Announcements
Diversity and Respect Week
Board Chair Candy Ashdown announced that this week is the District’s Diversity and Respect Week, which is a week-long initiative “to coincide with Pink Shirt Day in February to promote awareness, acceptance, reconciliation and inclusion for all members of the school community.” It was brought forward after the Langley Board of Education passed a motion in 2017. She said that during this week schools across the District celebrate the year long work that goes into promoting empathy, compassion, and the importance of inclusion. She added that in line with the District’s vision, mission, and values, the Board is committed to helping our schools foster an inclusive and nurturing culture.
Black History Month
Board Chair Candy Ashdown acknowledged February as Black History Month. She said the Board encourages students, staff, and families to continue to learn about and celebrate the achievements and contributions of Black Canadians, this month and beyond.
The video above will begin on these agenda items.
Board Chair Candy Ashdown made an announcement regarding the motions that were passed at the Township of Langley’s Regular Meeting on February 24, 2025, that impact the School District. She said the Board is concerned that these motions caused confusion and concern in our school communities. She explained how the Board and the Superintendent released a joint statement and response to the community for each motion which can be found on the District website. She said the Board encourages Council to engage with the District proactively rather than through motions which impact schools. She announced that the Board of Education is concerned about the process in which these were brought forward, as she said these motions were not mentioned at a recent joint School District 35 municipal liaison committee in January. She talked about the co-governance model between the Province and the District and the process of decision-making. She ended the statement noting that the Board remains committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure a strong education system for generations to come.
The video above will begin on this agenda item.
Secretary-Treasurer Reports
Amended Budget Bylaw 2024-2025
Secretary-Treasurer Brian Iseli provided an overview of the amended budget for 2024-2025. He shared tables outlining District expenses, revenue, budget bylaw amounts, operating revenues, operating expenses, and included a detailed breakdowns of different categories of the budget such as salaries, benefits, services, and supplies as examples. Iseli explained the Ministry Operating Grant, funds from the province for student enrolment, were close to projections this year.
Recommendation: That the Board of Education approves staff to appropriate (unrestrict) the following restricted surplus amounts to balance the 2024/2025 Amended Budget:
- $3,022,083 Internally restricted for commitments 2023/2024
- $139,000 Internally restricted for initiatives not completed 2023/2024
- $445,000 Internally restricted for Administration supports
- $50,000 Internally restricted for Middle school initiatives for K-7 schools
- $400,000 Internally restricted for Accessible playground equipment
- $428,032 school surpluses
- $420,000 Internally restricted for classroom furniture
- $105,000 Internally restricted for Cyber security
- $600,000 Internally restricted for Facility upgrades $30,919 Internally restricted for District capital contribution for Peter Ewart Middle School Seismic Project
Recommendation: That the School District No. 35 (Langley) Amended Annual Budget Bylaw 2024/2025 in the amount of $414,237,105 be given first reading.
Recommendation: That the School District No. 35 (Langley) Amended Annual Budget Bylaw 2024/2025 in the amount of $414,237,105 be given second reading.
Recommendation: That the Board of Education of School District No. 35 (Langley) approves having all three readings of the Amended Annual Budget Bylaw 2024/2025 in the amount of $414,237,105 at tonight’s meeting.
Recommendation: That the School District No. 35 (Langley) Amended Annual Budget Bylaw 2024/2025 in the amount of $414,237,105 be given third reading, passed and adopted on this 25th day of February 2025.
The Board approved the above motions. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
Superintendent’s Reports
District Calendar 2027-2028 Consultation
Superintendent Mal Gill provided background on District Calendars and how traditionally the District provides three years of calendars in advance. The calendars are available on the District website to help families make their future plans.
District Principal of Human Resources Kevan Reeve presented the proposed District Calendar for 2027-2028. He says the District Calendar presented is in compliance with the Ministry calendar regulations and meets certain instructional hours for each grade level. He shared the calendar and noted the significance of the colour coding for certain days.
Recommendation: That the Board of Education requests staff begin the consultation process for the District Calendar for 2027-2028.
The Board approved the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
The Board invites members of the public to provide feedback on the District Calendar 2027-2028 (see link to calendar below) by March 26. Please send comments to feedback@sd35.bc.ca
District Calendar 2027-2028
Diversity and Respect Week 2025
Student Support Services Director Mike Morgan started the presentation by talking about the meaning of the word respect in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm and how it is considered a skill that can be taught. He introduced an administrator from Betty Gilbert Middle School who was there to talk about how their school staff works with students to teach respect, respecting staff, and others.
Vice-Principal Mindy Guthrie talked about her restorative practices when she works with students. Upon taking on the role as an administrator at the school, she said one of the first things she wanted to do was change the school’s action plan for learning to include restorative practices. As a result, the school made changes to its social emotional learning part of its plan to include fostering resilience with restorative practices while developing a strong culture of connection, care, belonging and inclusion.
With her counselling background, she talked about social control theory and how she uses that in her practice. As she explained, restorative means working with students and it means high caring and high expectations. As she said, part of this work is teaching students about respect, and “doing respect” or modelling respect. She showed the Board a useful tool (form for students to complete alongside the administrator) to help the student understand themselves and work through their conflicts. On the form, there is a section that gives students the opportunity to come to their own conclusions about what traits are needed to fix or solve their problems. Throughout her presentation, she talked about the success she has had with various students.
Principal John Hantke and Vice-Principal Erin Favero from H.D. Stafford Middle School presented next on how their staff create a culture of care. He said their school is very diverse with many of the students coming from different cultural backgrounds.
In relation to diversity, Favero gave an example of how there are many languages spoken by students in the school. She shared an anecdote of a student asking her “how many languages do you speak?”. After telling them that she only spoke one, the student responded with surprise noting that they were able to speak four languages. Favero said that more than 40 languages are spoken by H.D. Stafford students at their homes. Many of the students speak their languages at school. The different languages are celebrated at the school.
Hantke talked about how the multiculturalism of the school is an opportunity to help teach students about diversity and respect in the building. He mentioned how “modelling respect” is an important part of how students learn. At the school they model respect through the following ways: events, sports, games, and clubs. They closed the presentation with a video that exemplified how the school celebrates diversity and respect all year long.
Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the report on Diversity and Respect Week for information, as presented.
The Board approves the report as presented. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
Education/Strategic Plan Committee
Annual Review of International Baccalaureate Fees
Recommendation: That the Board of Education approves the fee structure for the International Baccalaureate Program at RE Mountain Secondary for the 2025-26 school year, as presented.
Annual Review of Specialty Academy Fees
Recommendation: That the Board of Education approves the fees for Specialty Academies for the 2025-26 school year, as presented.
The Board approved the above motions. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
New Business
Recommendation: That the Langley Board of Education write a letter to the federal government, specifically to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), advocating for the restoration of full funding for the Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) program and the reinstatement of a five-year Contribution Agreement to ensure stability in planning, staffing, and service provision for immigrant and refugee students and their families.
The Board approved the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
Trustee Comments
No Comments
Question Period