November 18, 2025 From The Board
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MEETING OPENING
The K̓wsaltktnéws ne Secwepemcúl’ecw School District No. 83 Board of Education held its Regular Board meeting on November 18, 2025, with all trustees in attendance, confirming quorum. Board Chair Corryn Grayston opened with a welcome and acknowledged that the Board holds its meetings on the traditional and unceded land of the Secwépemc people.
Chair Grayston acknowledged Trustee Tennile Lachmuth for her contribution in the role of Vice Chair during the 2024-25 school year. During the Special Board Meeting held on November 4th, the Board elected Trustee Amanda Krebs as Vice Chair. Additional elections held resulted in the following representation: British Columbia School Trustees Association (BCSTA) Provincial Councillor – Chair Grayston; BCSTA Provincial Councillor (alternate) – Trustee Lachmuth; British Columbia Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) – Chair Grayston; BCPSEA (alternate) – Trustee VanBuskirk.
EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION
Student Support Services – Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
The Board received an update on the District’s work to strengthen inclusive practices, aligned with three departmental priorities: revitalizing Universal Design for Learning (UDL), extending Positive Behaviour Support Planning (PBSP), and developing consistent case file management processes.
District Principal Jo McKenna and District Vice Principal Lara Matthews highlighted that UDL is an evidence-based framework built on the widely replicated finding that learner variability is the norm, requiring schools to design learning experiences that are accessible and beneficial for all students. The benefits of UDL include improving accessibility, supporting diverse learners, enhancing student engagement, and promoting educational equity. All of these benefits align with the District’s Strategic Plan.
The update summarized recent professional learning, including a dinner meeting that brought case managers and principals together for side-by-side learning on positive behaviour support planning and consistent, evidence-based behaviour management aligned with Ministry expectations.
Next steps for this work include:
· Principal Group: Dedicated UDL learning time at each leadership team meeting to support school-level implementation.
· Case Manager Group: Continued sessions focused on collaborative coaching approaches and how resource teachers can support classroom colleagues through a UDL lens.
· UDL Pilot Schools: Two school teams, Carlin and Highland Park Elementary, will engage in deeper site-based learning alongside the department.
· PBSP Learning Series: Inclusion Support Teachers are creating an on-demand behaviour learning series, including modules and workbook activities, expected for release in early January, with consultation support available for school teams.
This ongoing, multi-level professional learning plan is designed to build common language, shared understanding, and aligned practice across the District to strengthen inclusion and support all learners.
The Student Support Services – Universal Design for Learning Slide Show is available here.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
The Board received the Superintendent’s Report, which provided updates across the six pillars of the District’s Strategic Plan. The current Strategic Plan is in its third year and is scheduled to conclude in July 2028. Planning for consultation, review, and revision of the Plan will occur during the 2027–28 school year.
Reconfiguration Update
Superintendent Donna Kriger reviewed the multi-year reconfiguration timeline and noted that significant planning and work continues. J.L. Jackson (JLJ) is currently functioning as a Grade 9–11 school, with all Grade 9 students placed at JLJ to support the final graduating class of Salmon Arm Secondary. Administrators have observed positive impacts from the presence of older students. Planning is now underway for JLJ and Salmon Arm Secondary to become Grade 9–12 schools in 2026-27.
Regular meetings with secondary administrators continue to address resources, infrastructure needs, human resources planning, catchment and enrolment considerations, and preparations for 2026–27 course selection. A full reconfiguration timeline was shared with the Board, outlining the gradual transition through 2027-28.
Superintendent Kriger also reviewed upcoming elementary changes. Beginning in 2026-27, current Grade 5 students will remain at their schools for Grade 6 as elementary schools shift to a K-6 configuration. At Bastion Elementary, a PAC meeting will address space challenges and human resource considerations, including the possibility of relocating Grade 5 French immersion students to Shuswap Middle School. Rural feeder schools (North Shuswap, Ranchero, and Silver Creek) will see no changes. In the West, Sorrento and Carlin will retain Grade 5 and move to K–6 configurations in 2026-27, with full K-7 implementation in 2027-28.
Conversations are underway regarding transportation supports for extracurricular activities, responding to feedback from families. Staff are gathering data and potential cost implications to share with PACs.
Career Development
Director Reid Findlay was recognized with a Lifetime Honourary Award from the Career Education Society of BC on November 18, 2025, in Vancouver, acknowledging his outstanding contributions to career development for students.
Organizational Development
The Board was informed that Gloria Cox, Vice Principal at JLJ has been appointed Principal of Pleasant Valley Secondary School. Gloria will begin her new position once the vice principal at JLJ is filled. Kevin McGifford, formerly Vice Principal at A.L. Fortune, has assumed his new role as Principal of Len Wood Middle School.
Communications & Engagement
Refreshed District and school websites will soon be launched, improving navigation, consistency across schools, and access to documents.
The District also released its Strategic Focus publication, featuring staff and student stories connected to the strategic priorities. Superintendent Kriger noted a feature created by the Itinerant Counsellor Team titled Mindful Moments, which provides wellness strategies for students and adults.
EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT
K to 12 Literacy Initiative
Director of Instruction Jennifer Findlay provided an update on the Ministry’s K–12 Literacy Initiative, which is designed to strengthen literacy outcomes across all grade levels, with a primary focus on early literacy. The Government of BC is investing $30M over the next three years to better support students’ literacy development in the K-12 school system. The Ministry of Education and Child Care is working closely with provincial K-12 education and Indigenous partners, and experts in literacy development and intervention, to guide the implementation of this initiative. At the end of the previous school year, the Ministry announced that there will be a mandatory K-3 literacy screener that will be created as a BC specific tool, in the future.
SD83 currently uses the Early Learning Profile for Kindergarten and DIBELS 8 for Grades 1 and 2, with universal screening conducted multiple times per year and collaborative school-team planning sessions to analyze data and guide instruction.
Literacy Support Teachers are embedded in all elementary schools to lead screening, intervention, and professional learning, with a strong emphasis on Tier 1 classroom instruction supported by Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions as needed. Professional learning continues to be a priority, including training in structured literacy, explicit phonics instruction, and the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)model, along with release time for educators and bi-monthly leadership sessions for principals and vice-principals.
Family engagement remains central, with communication through websites, newsletters, and school events, as well as partnerships with the Literacy Alliance of the Shuswap Society and Quelmúcw Education Council. Provincial support includes participation in the Community of Practice, integration of webinars into the professional learning calendar, and coordination with outreach programs such as POPEY.
Future priorities include implementing Grade 3 screening, updating the Early Literacy Framework to reflect structured literacy and MTSS, and strengthening Tier 1 instruction. Indicators for success will include improved literacy proficiency rates, increased participation in professional learning, documented use of screening data to inform instruction, reduced need for Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, positive feedback from educators and families, and the development of a District-wide writing rubric.
NEW BUSINESS
Trustee Remuneration
Each year at this time, the Board reviews trustee remuneration in accordance with policy. Adjustments are based on the previous year’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) annual change for British Columbia.
The Board made a motion to approve the Trustees annual remuneration be increased by the 2024 BC CPI rate of 2.6% effective December 1, 2025, as per Policy 136.
June Board Meeting – Date Change Request
The Board made a motion to move the June In-Camera and Regular Board meetings to June 23, 2026.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Education Direction Committee
Trustee Marianne VanBuskirk reported that the Committee discussed three items including:
· Ministry Literacy Initiatives to support professional learning and assessment;
· Numeracy Residency program provided by the Numeracy Helping Teachers, Christine Blacklock and Marlee Penner; and,
· Communicating Student Learning.
Finance & Facilities / Audit Committee
Vice Chair Amanda Krebs reported that the Committee discussed updating the Joint Use Agreement between the City of Salmon Arm, the Shuswap Recreation Society, and SD83 regarding the sport court at Shuswap Middle School. She made trustees aware that the Environmental Advisory Committee Meeting minutes are available in the Teams folder.
Quarterly Financial as at September 30, 2025
Acting Secretary-Treasurer Jeremy Hunt presented the first quarterly financial report for September, noting that revenues are on track with a slight increase from a federal electrical grant of approximately $11,000. Rental and lease revenues will be monitored following January rate adjustments. On the expense side, teacher salaries are close to the target of 90% remaining, which is typical for this point in the year. Substitute costs and employee benefits remain variable and will be analyzed further as more data becomes available. Overall, it is early in the fiscal year, and no significant concerns have been identified; staff will continue to monitor and provide updates as the year progresses.
Statement of Financial Information (SOFI)
Acting Secretary-Treasurer Hunt presented the annual Statement of Financial Information (SOFI) report, which includes three key sections: the audited financial statements previously approved in September, the schedule of remuneration and expenses for employees earning over $75,000, and the schedule of payments made to suppliers receiving more than $25,000 from the District. Employee remuneration includes salary, taxable benefits, and other payments, while expenses cover items such as travel, memberships, and tuition. The supplier schedule highlights major vendors, including benefit carriers and contractors for large capital projects such as the Pleasant Valley Secondary School gym reconstruction. This report ensures transparency and compliance with provincial reporting requirements.
The Board made a motion that the Board Chair write a letter to the Ministry requesting an increase of the remuneration limit in the SOFI Report to $100,000.
Salmon Arm Secondary Trail Project – Property Bylaw No. 3-2025
As per the original proposal in March 2023, the next phase of the greenway trail plan is the trail alignment at Salmon Arm Secondary. Over the summer, Acting Secretary-Treasurer Hunt, Director Travis Elwood, Principal Rob Cadden, and Vice Principal Rhys Waters met with City and Trail Alliance staff on-site to view the trail, and a survey plan has been created for the proposed alignment of the trail. The proposed trail is on the western edge of the property, following the social trail in place and tied into the existing City of Salmon Arm trail on 20th Avenue NE.
The Board passed the first two readings of the Property Bylaw regarding the trail alignment on the Salmon Arm Secondary School property. The third and final reading will be brought forward at the December Regular meeting.
Transportation Committee Terms of Reference
Acting Secretary-Treasurer Hunt explained that the Transportation Committee Terms of Reference (TOR) were brought forward for discussion due to concerns about a potential conflict of interest when a Trustee who chairs the committee is involved in transportation decisions that may later be appealed. Director Elwood outlined the process and types of information considered when transportation decisions are made, noting that while the TOR currently requires the committee to report to the Finance & Facilities Committee, Secretary-Treasurer Dale Culler had proposed that recommendations come directly to the Board instead.
Trustees discussed the role of a Trustee representative on the committee, the implications for appeals, and the committee’s overall TOR. While minor wording updates were identified for future refinement, the Board agreed that no structural changes will be made at this time and that further consideration will occur after the findings of the Transportation Review are available. The committee will continue to meet from September to June to review transportation matters.
Partner Group
Chair Grayston reported that the next Partner Group meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 20, 2025.
Policy Committee
Acting Secretary-Treasurer Hunt presented the updated Policy 110 – Accumulated Operating Surplus, noting that it aligns with Ministry of Education and Child Care requirements, reflects the sample policy provided to districts, and supports the Board’s strategic priority of responsible governance and stewardship. He reviewed sections related to Local Capital, restricted capital, and the requirement for Board motions for any appropriation or transfer of funds.
Trustees sought clarification on merging the contingency reserve and unrestricted operating surplus from the previous Regulation, and also agreed on an amendment to Item 4 of the Policy to include the wording “such as, but not limited to.”
The Board emphasized that a large portion of the budget is tied to mandatory wage costs, limiting the district’s ability to maintain a surplus near the top of the range. Trustees commented that while the district typically remains closer to the 1% minimum, the maximum remains important to prevent surpluses from exceeding appropriate limits. It was also noted that unexpected events, such as WorkSafe claims or litigation, can quickly reduce the minimum surplus, highlighting its role as a risk-mitigation tool. Concerns were also raised that the “restricted for future capital cost-sharing” category may disadvantage smaller districts without significant land-sale revenue.
Superintendent Kriger noted that although legislated policies typically come forward for one reading, this policy is being brought for two readings due to the depth of discussion and questions raised at the Policy Committee meeting.
Committee of the Whole
Chair Grayston reported that the next Committee of the Whole meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 15, 2025, at 5 pm.
BRITISH COLUMBIA SCHOOL TRUSTEES ASSOCIATION (BCSTA)
Chair Grayston reported that she attended the virtual Provincial Council Meeting on October 24, 2025, which focused on general business and a few resolutions. She also participated in the BCSTA Board Call on November 13, 2025, where discussion centered on organizational priorities, including building the association’s brand and promoting the value of boards.
BRITISH COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION (BCPSEA)
Chair Grayston reported that she will be attending the BCPSEA AGM on January 29, 2026.
QUELMÚCW EDUCATION COUNCIL
Trustee Lachmuth reported that the Quelmúcw Education Council attended a Learning Session during the week of November 17-21, 2025.
TRUSTEE REPORTS
Trustee VanBuskirk reported attending Parent Advisory Council meetings at Bastion and J.L. Jackson. On November 3, 2025, trustees participated in a session with principals and vice principals to review School Learning Plans. She also acknowledged Remembrance Day and Indigenous Veterans day, noting the assemblies, projects, and displays held in schools.
Board Chair Grayston noted that schools, including Sorrento, Carlin, and North Shuswap, are busy preparing for winter concerts and seasonal activities.
UPCOMING DATES
November 21, 2025 Shihiya Ground Breaking
November 27-29, 2025 BCSTA Trustee Academy, Vancouver
December 10, 2025 Knowledge Keepers Luncheon
December 16, 2025 Regular Board Meeting