WEYBURN - The South East Cornerstone Public School Division’s (SECPSD) board gathered in Weyburn on Wednesday for its monthly public meeting.
As per board policy, an evaluation of the performance of director of education and CEO Keith Keating has been assigned to an independent evaluation contractor. The outside evaluations of directors are carried out every four years while internal evaluations are required annually.
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Contract negotiations between SECPSD and members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU-West) have been successfully concluded with a new three-year agreement to be signed soon. The Cornerstone division says further information is expected once the contract is signed.
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The Wapella School Community Council has been granted an amendment to their constitution that will reduce the number of SCC required meetings from 10 to eight sessions per school year. That motion was passed unanimously.
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The board was pleased to hear the provincial government, in its recently-released budget, has included some pre-design funding that will launch a process of planning for a new kindergarten to Grade 12 school in Carlyle. Funding for the design and scope of the project is expected to follow within the next fiscal year.
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Deputy director Aaron Hiske, reported on the progress being made in the development of the new provincial education plan. Hiske has been named one of the co-leaders of one of the four areas of educational growth. He said the team is prepared to study a final draft of the plan when they meet again on May 2.
“There is good work happening. There have been some difficult conversations.”
But he assured the board members who questioned him on the process, that the operational process was broad enough to allow the team to move on with building the new plan.
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In recent months the general business meetings have neared conclusion by viewing video presentations provided by schools within the division. The April presentation featured staff and students participating in a number of activities and instructional pursuits at Pleasantdale School in Estevan.
The next open board meeting will be conducted on May 24, starting at 1 p.m. in Weyburn.
