New appointments, new parent commissioners sworn in

ETSB on a positive trend, annual report says

The Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) Council of Commissioners held their last meeting of 2018 on Tuesday evening.

During the meeting the board approved new appointments to fill the vacancy left by Director General Kandy Mackey, currently on personal leave, as well as a replacement for Complimentary Educational Services Director Gail Kelso, who will retire in the New Year.

The newly appointed parent commissioners in attendance took the oath of office.

The board also presented its annual report, rounding out the 2013-2018 strategic plan. The new long-term goals for the board will fall under the heading ‘commitment to success’.

Michel Soucy, Assistant Director General, was appointed Director General by interim.

Human Resources Director Jeff Pauw was appointed Assistant Director General.

While Chairman Mike Murray supported the nomination of Pauw to assistant DG, he pointed out that the HR director already had a full plate, and wondered if he would be overburdened by additional responsibilities.

Since the interim appointments are for an undetermined amount of time and 2019 is a negotiation year, Murray pointed out there could be a need for additional support in HR.

Following a discussion among the commissioners, the board agreed to approve the nomination, and in the near future sit down with Pierre-andré Arel, Assistant Director of Human Resources, to ‘see where the holes are’ and decide whether additional resources would be required in the department.

Emmanuelle Gaudet, previously the Assistant Director of Pedagogical Services, was appointed to the position of Director of Complimentary Educational Services, replacing Gail Kelso, who will retire in March of 2019.

All appointments were approved unanimously.

“We’re on a positive trend,” commented Eva Lettner, Director of Instructional Technology and Pedagogical Services, referring to the board’s annual report. “Things are improving,” she said, crediting the hard work of school teams.

On most points, the ETSB either met or exceeded expectations, with the exception of two areas.

“We have to work on math,” explained DG Michel Soucy, adding that the graduation and qualification rate for ETSB students did not met the target.

Chairman Murray said that the board would pay special attention to the goals that were not achieved in the 2013-2018 strategic plan, striving for better results in years to come.

The board approved a decision to pass over the management of the class action suit to the Fédération des commissions scolaires du Québec (FCSQ). The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) will be involved in the file, Murray said, adding that giving the responsibility to the FCSQ will come at no cost to the ETSB.

Regarding the class action, Murray said it is still an issue that needs to be addressed.

While a settlement has been reached, there is no guarantee that next year a parent could claim that schools are charging too much for something, he explained.

Enrichment activities, referred to as special projects, are the gray area. Until there is clarity regarding what can and can’t be charged for, schools are limited in the activities they can offer, Murray said. The QESBA and other stakeholders are currently working on concrete answers.

Murray added that the QESBA, with its new Executive Director Russell Copeman, is taking a proactive stance with high visibility to express the importance of elected school board commissioners. The new provincial government is steadfast in its intention to replace school boards with service centres. Murray said the situation could resemble the recent bout with Bill 86.

During question period, Appalachian Teachers’ Association President Megan Seline asked the board about the status of the ententes with the Commission scolaire Val-des-cerfs, specifically related to the Brome-missisquoi Vocational Training Centre (CBM).

DG Soucy said there are a lot of issues with teaching and other areas, and the board is working to settle them as soon as possible. He added that the board has sought outside held, and something should be in place soon.

Seline then asked it the board could point out some elements of the impasse.

“It’s everywhere,” Soucy said, pointing to resource allocation as one example.

Chairman Murray added that the challenge at CBM is the same as other adult centres.

“There are no students,” Murray said, explaining there are fewer and fewer coming to study for the duration of a program.

According to Murray, the two vocational centres of the ETSB suffered an $800,000 loss and the board needs to look at changing the operational structure.

“We need to address the structural impediments to breaking even,” Murray said, without compromising the needs of students.

Seline asked if the ETSB had explored the possibility of partnering with other school boards.

Discussions are underway, Murray said, adding that because approaches are so different, negotiating agreements with English boards likely wouldn’t be any easier than working with Val-des Cerfs.