PRINCE ALBERT - The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division board of education is planning their annual meeting with Rural Municipalities for late November.
The board outlined plans at their regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 7.
“We are looking forward to that. That's the end of November we are planning for that,” director of education Robert Bratvold said.
“Last year we had some weather issues and some other scheduling issues, and COVID was also a bit of a challenge. We did have our meeting last year but we are looking forward to having our partners at the table for that.”
The division stated in a release that as a geographically large school division serving many rural communities the Board is working to develop partnerships with community leaders and strong working relationships for their schools.
Bratvold explained that they hope to have mayors and reeves or designates in attendance.
“We will talk about a whole host of things that we have some common interest around. That's always a good opportunity. We learn from local government officials what challenges they are facing and almost without fail they are looking for ways to support the school because they are strong community people, so that's a great way to share some common goals,” Bratvold said.
The meeting is planned for Nov. 29 at the Education Centre. Bratvold said they are looking forward to a strong turnout and the opportunity to work with the municipal government sector for rural schools.
Sask Rivers board bringing two resolutions forward at SSBA conference
Representatives from the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division will bring a resolution calling on the SSBA and Ministry of Education to jointly review funding for independent schools at the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) Fall Assembly.
Sask. Rivers reps are in attendance from Nov. 13-15. The motion is one of two Sask. Rivers reps plan to bring forward. The other calls on the SSBA to start discussions with the ministry on a joint mill rate recommendation.
Trustee Bill Yeaman brought forward the resolution on independent school funding. The rationale for this resolution is to advocate for equitable transparent funding that meets the needs of our students.
Trustee Grant Gustafson brought forward the mill rate motion. The rationale for this resolution is that it is crucial for school boards to have funding that is stable, predictable and will meet the needs of students.
“The board talked about it quite a bit (at the regular meeting on Nov. 7), Sask. Rivers education director Robert Bratvold said. “Our board has submitted two resolutions (and) there was some good conversation about those two resolutions.
“It's nice for the public to know that our division is active in that provincial association and contributes to it.”
The theme of this year’s SSBA conference is ‘Innovation, Inclusion, and Investment.’
The provincial organization has their annual general meeting at this time, as well as a conference with the theme ‘Innovation, Inclusion, and Investment’.