School Board briefs

Contrary to what you might have expected, SD 19 trustees did not publicly discuss the impending one-day strike by the BC Teachers’ Federation at Revelstoke’s four schools on Tuesday. Nor have they commented on the government’s subsequent tit-for-tat lockout.

BC Public School Employers’ Association members are barred from commenting on the negotiations, or perhaps we should call it a playground fistfight, between the union and the government.

The only member of BCPSEA allowed to comment on the situation is its CEO, Michael Marchbank, who was appointed by the government last August.

Please click here to read a story from The Tyee about Marchbank’s appointment.

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School District 19 trustees got a taste of this past school year at Begbie View Elementary School when Principal Yangping Wang appeared before it on Wednesday, May 21.

Not only are students committed to a full day of studies but they are offered opportunities to participate in about 60 different programns ranging from Student Council to the Book Drive and Food Bank Drive to the Scholastic Book Fair and Random Acts of Kindness Week.

Trustees were impressed with her report, as they were during their previous meeting when they received a report from Columbia Park Elementary School Principal Ariel McDowell.

Please click here to read the BVE Annual Report.

Please click here to read the CPE Annual Report.

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Don’t be alarmed if you see a small army of RCMP officers converging on RSS this summer.

Trustees approved a request from Sgt. Kim Hall of the Revelstoke RCMP Detachment asking that members of the Emergency Response Team be allowed to use the building for a realistic training scenario on July 22 and July 23.

“This training will involve RCMP receiving a 911 call… of a critical incident in the school,” her request to the board said. “RCMP members will play the part of the perpetrators. They will be using adult actors as bystanders (students) to create as real a scenario for the RCMP members as possible.”

Hall said there would be “effective communication” in the period leading up to the drill so that everyone knows it’s an exercise and not a real emergency.

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School Board trustees have passed the 2014-2015 budget, which totals $12,040,359.

This budget is down from the 2013-2014 budget, which amounted to $12,222,278.

Please click here to read the complete budget.