How can the New Westminster school board keep the public engaged, take late-night pressure off students and staff, and still manage to enjoy the benefits of a return to in-person meetings? Should stakeholders other than elected trustees be part of its formal education and operations committees?
Those are some of the issues being weighed as the School District 40 board considers how to structure its board and committee meetings for 2022/23.
All open board and public committee meetings have been held virtually since April 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Since then, public engagement in meetings has increased dramatically, as secretary-treasurer Bettina Ketcham noted in a report to trustees.
Now the board is looking what its new “normal” should be. The issue is up for discussion at the board’s operations committee meeting tomorrow (April 12).
Staff have put three possible options on the table for consideration:
OPTION 1
- Education committee meetings would take place in person, start at 3:30 p.m. and rotate between school sites each month. Operations committee meetings would be in-person immediately following education committee.
- The committees wouldn’t be structured as “committee of the whole,” meaning quorum would not be required of trustees.
- Committee members could include representatives from other stakeholder groups, not just trustees.
- Education committee meetings would be focused on student presentations and topics around school learning plans and curriculum (such as literacy/numeracy, inclusive education, Indigenous education, safe schools and the like)
- Operations committee meetings would include standing reports from management of specific departments: capital, facilities, technology/information systems, finance, human resources.
- Specific management reports on key topics (such as the board work plan, reports on programs such as international education and careers, student learning accountability report, budget and the like) would be moved to open board meetings.
- Open board meetings would be held virtually.
- The board could call special open meetings when required – such as for the budget process.
OPTION 2
- Education committee meetings would take place in person, start at 3:30 p.m. and rotate between school sites each month.
- Education committee meetings would not be “committee of the whole,” and other stakeholders could sit on the committee along with trustees.
- Operations committee meetings would remain as “committee of the whole,” with only trustees sitting as members of the committee and a quorum required at meetings.
- Major management reports would still be presented at operations committee meetings.
- Both committee meetings would be held on the same day, but with a break between; operations meetings would be held virtually starting at 6:30 p.m.
- Open board meetings would be held virtually.
OPTION 3
Meetings return to in person, but the structure remains the same as it is now.
As it stands now, the education and operations committees are both structured as “committee of the whole,” meaning a quorum of trustees is required, and only trustees are members of the committees.
Committees meet once a month, and open board meetings are also held once a month (two weeks after the committee meeting night).
Committee meeting nights start with education committee at 5 p.m., and open board meetings begin at 7 p.m.
How to attend the April 12 meeting
The item is set for discussion at the operations committee meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, April 12). It’s held virtually, via Webex, starting at 6:30 p.m. You can find a full agenda package and meeting link online.
Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
Email Julie, [email protected].
