Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta President’s Report 2020 Annual General Meeting Cathy Hogg, President Report to PSBAA 2020 Annual General Meeting President Meetings with PSBAA Annual General Meeting / Spring General Assembly Regular meetings with Executive Committee Regular meetings with Public School Board Council Regular meetings with the Executive Director Interviews for Executive Director’s position PSBAA Event Planning Subcommittee PSBAA Work Plan Development Meetings with Ministers, Members of the Legislative Assembly and Assembly Events Minister of Education, Hon. Adriana LaGrange (4) Minister of Indigenous Relations, Hon. Rick Wilson Speaker of the House, Hon. Nathan Cooper Associate Minister of Red Tape Reduction, Hon. Grant Hunter MLA Cypress Medicine Hat, Drew Barnes MLA Central Peace – Notley, Todd Loewen MLA Barrhead – Morinville-Westlock, Glenn van Dijken Consultation Meeting with Alberta Education on the Choice in Education Act Tabling of Budget Throne Speech Meetings with Member School Divisions Medicine Hat Public School Division Board visit Golden Hills School Division Board visit Prairie Land Public School Division Board visit Grande Yellowhead Public School Division Board visit Aspen View Public Schools Board visit Grande Prairie Public School Division Board visit Peace Wapiti Public School Division Board visit Canadian Rockies Public Schools Board visit Wild Rose School Division Board visit High Prairie School Division Board visit Buffalo Trail Public Schools Board Visit Sturgeon Public Schools Board visit Parkland School Division Board visit Edmonton Public Schools Board Chair meeting More Board visits have been scheduled to take place before the Annual General Meeting Meetings with Non-Member School Divisions Livingston Range School Division Board visit 1 Meetings with Fraternal Partners Alberta School Boards Association Board of Directors (3) Alberta School Boards Association Zoom Conference: Board Chairs and Associations Meeting with Alberta Teachers’ Association President and Executive Secretary Alberta Teachers’ Association Table Officers meeting Conversation with Trustee from Ontario (letter to Ontario Public School Boards’ Association re: Theodore Case) Media Mainstreet Media Interview with Janet French Response to an article posted by MLA Cypress Medicine Hat Letters to the Minister November 5, 2019 Retaining “Public” in our legal name November 21, 2019 Alberta School Boards’ Insurance Exchange Insurance June 12, 2020 Choice in Education Act August 31,2020 Distribution of Federal COVID-19 funding October 7, 2020 Charter School Report Recommendation Since October of last year, it has been my honour to attend these meetings on behalf of our Association. The particulars have been reported to you in our Council reports throughout the year. I would again like to thank our member boards for the warm welcome that Troy and I have received in your board rooms through Zoom. Again, while these meetings have traditionally been held in person, we are grateful that you have been able to accommodate us through Zoom. We have been able to have productive conversations and, in all honesty, the Association has saved significant resources through this approach. I would argue though that our Council, Spring and Annual General Meetings are still best for all of us in many ways to have in person. Having said that we made a strong declaration that our November meeting would be held in person. We may have spoken too soon as the government could at any time determine that increased restrictions must be enforced again. We will of course comply and will give as much notice as possible as to the direction we take for the next meeting in November. Meantime let us all continue to mind the safety protocols for ourselves and our school communities. I believe we have all been doing a great job thus far. A big thank you to our teachers, administrators, and staff for all that they do on this front. We will soon have visited all our member boards after which we will make every effort to resume meetings with MLAs across the province as well as any non-member board willing to have a discussion. We will begin by approaching the six non-member boards that participated in the Transportation Task Force Survey. In my last meeting with the Minister she stated that it would definitely be to our advantage to have all public school boards join our association. We take that to mean that a unified voice carries more weight. It is important that we communicate that to them. In my meetings with some of you in your board rooms I have shared some of the details of my meeting with the Minister of Education on August 25, 2020. In attendance at that meeting was Minister Adriana LaGrange, Chief of Staff Nicole Williams, and Deputy Minister Andre Corbould. I expressed our 2 appreciation for the work done with Alberta School Boards Association on matters that pertain to all 61 of its member boards but spent a majority of the time discussing matters specific to our interests. While I have not yet been able to share all the details of this meeting with each of you, I will continue to do so at our board visits and then once again at the November Council meeting. I do want to speak a little, though, about our research paper regarding Charter Schools. A conversation with the Minister regarding the Choice in Education Act led us to share with her and her staff that we had commissioned a study on Charter schools. They were very intrigued and stated that they look forward to seeing the report. We sent them a copy before releasing it publicly and we have sent a follow up letter. You have seen the recommendation to the Minister urging the GOA to conduct a complete review of the Charter system. In our follow up letter our request was respectfully stated and used the language of this government in terms of their commitment to fiscal restraint and finding efficiencies. It is our sincere hope that they will give this review consideration before any expansion of the charter system. I had an interview with Janet French on the research paper and our recommendation. She commented that the “horse is out of the barn with the Choice in Ed Act” but I stated that it is our fervent hope that, given the points raised in the report, the government will consider a review before any new charter school approval. Early in the year, I, along with the rest of the EC, spent time reviewing resumes for the role of Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer. Clearly, Troy was the unanimous choice. I would like to say that our new Executive Director is very engaged and working hard for the interests of our Association. I am extremely impressed with his keen interest and his efforts to increase our communication strategies. The changes to the Advocate are a great example. He has developed a great rapport with the staff, contracted personnel, and our consultants. He will speak to these in his report. I thank him for always being available and committed. During these unprecedented times, our office staff have been very flexible and accommodating and we appreciate their work. The Executive Committee has been also very flexible and while traditionally we had met six times per year, through Zoom we have been able to connect on a more regular basis and are handling issues as they arise. I thank them all so much for the work they do on committees and for the Association as a whole. In addition, the level of support that they give to me has been immeasurable. Each of them brings a skillset that enriches us all. I thank them for always stepping up and supporting me in any way they can. As per usual I will have a verbal address (I will keep it shorter) for our meeting and again, while I am disappointed we are not meeting in person, I am grateful that we have this alternative in place. Until October 15, 2020 I will leave you with this thought: I, like you, am proud to be a public school trustee. While some may work to diminish the true meaning of the word public, we understand the essence of it. I commit to you that I will spend my last year as your president doing all that I can to ensure that the people of this province understand its essence also. Thank you for all you are doing to keep your communities safe. Stay well! Most sincerely, President 3 .