Trustees with the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) met virtually on Wednesday, September 9, for their first regular board meeting of the 2020-2021 school year. Trustees conducted the meeting in person at the Brockville Board Office, with the option for Trustees to call in, as is the usual practice.
Swearing in of 2020-2021 Student Trustees:
Student Trustees Tain Hughes from Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute and Jordan Evans from Tagwi Secondary School publicly signed and verbally stated their declaration and oath of allegiance. The documents were officially signed earlier this month.
Student Trustee Hughes will serve as the Chair of UCDSB Student Senate Meetings and Trustee Evans will serve as Vice-Chair. Their roles are equal, and they will share responsibilities in all areas in their new position as board members.
This is the first year that the UCDSB has more than one Student Trustee, following direction from the Ministry of Ontario that “the board shall have at least two but not more than three student trustees.”
Update from the Student Transportation of Eastern Ontario (STEO):
Janet Murray, General Manager and Chief Administrative Officer of STEO, and Marc Gosset, Operations Manager of STEO, updated trustees on transportation in the UCDSB.
The duo spoke on the STEO operational guidelines that have been communicated to all bus operators, vehicle capacity, staggered entry, personal protective equipment and driver supply. The full STEO COVID-19 Response Plan can be found on the STEO website.
UCDSB Operational Up- date:
UCDSB staff updated trustees and answered questions on school operations, remote learning models and current and anticipated COVID-19 expenditures.
As it stands today, the two emerging cost pressures for the 2020-2021 school year arise from the high level of interest in the asynchronous remote learning model at the elementary level, and a projected higher than normal sick leave utilization. Staff project these additional costs will amount to approximately $19.4 million.
