ROSS KING, your Bluewater District School Board Trustee, for Arran-Elderslie

ANNUAL REPORT

It has now been one year since I was elected as the Bluewater District School Board trustee for Arran-Elderslie and Saugeen Shores and what a year it has been. In my entire career, I cannot think of a time when I have been on such a steep learning curve and as far as I can see, I shall continue to be on it for some time to come. I have learned many things over the past year, but one of the most important things I have learned is the limited power of any individual trustee; as a member of the corporate board of Bluewater, all decisions must be the decision of the majority of all the trustees. Now that is certainly not to say that an individual trustee can’t have influence and indeed, to be true to the electorate, a trustee must make the appropriate staff aware of all concerns raised by the public. Although a trustee can’t “fix” any problems on his/her own, what a trustee can do individually is be aware of the concerns, put people in contact with appropriate people, monitor the situation, and offer advice and support. To that end, I try to attend as many School Community Council (SCC) meetings as I can. Last year I attended over 20 SCC meetings and encouraged all the parents to contact me should issues arise. At the board level, I am pleased to belong to several committees. All trustees are members of the Business Committee, the Educational Issues Committee, and the Policy Committee. As well, I am a member of the Aboriginal Education Advisory Committee, the Audit Committee (or as some of my colleagues call it, the “Fun with Numbers” committee), the Labour Relations Committee, and the Parent Involvement Committee  (a new committee mandated by the province). I enjoy my work on all these committees.

The past year has been an extremely busy year.  The newspapers in the area have done a good job making the public aware of all issues and achievements and hopefully everyone has been keeping up to date. Just in case you haven’t, I would strongly encourage all of you to have a look at the Board’s new website which is very user friendly and quite easy to navigate. On the opening page you will find many current articles with an easy to follow navigation bar both across the top and down the side. You can visit the web page of your home school (although not all of these are up and running yet), or you can review all the policies of the Bluewater District School Board, or you can see what your local SCC is up to. These are just some examples of the types of information you can access on the website. You can reach the Board website by going to www.bwdsb.on.ca. Please visit.

One piece of current news that I am sure will elicit a lot of discussion is that the Board has given final approval for the new Student Support and Services Centre. This always seems to be a contentious issue. As you may recall, three years ago, there was a debate over the actual location and there is always the debate over whether it was needed at all. On the Board’s website, you will find a document entitled “School Support and Services Project Frequently Asked Questions and Answers” and I would encourage you to read this document. There is one point, however, that I would like to emphasize because I do get questions about this all the time. The money used to build the new Centre has absolutely no impact on schools or students. The money comes completely out of the Administrative envelope.

There are many positive things happening in Bluewater and as I mentioned before, the local media have kept the public well informed, but just in case you missed something here is a list of a few of our highlights: constant improvement in Education Quality & Accountability Office (EQAO) results; improved graduation rates; implementation of the Aboriginal Self Identification Policy; implementation of the Character Development Program; the success of the new Parent Involvement Committee; completion of the new Hanover Heights school; and the ever expanding High Skills Majors Programs. Look for the Annual Report from our Director for more information.

I look forward to my second year with as much enthusiasm as I began my first. You may contact me if you wish by phone 519-363-3143 or by email (see Board website).