Deadline Jan. 7, 2008
School boards asked to give input
into ASBA strategic plan
The ASBA Board of Directors meets Jan. 10-12 to work on the ASBA’s strategic plan and is seeking school boards’ advice.  In a Nov. 14 letter, school boards were invited to review the current plan (PDF–185K) and to identify any new initiatives they feel should be added, recognizing there are constraints on association resources. Please submit responses to , Director, Finance and Administration, before Jan. 7.

School board suggestions will be costed and compiled into a report for consideration by the board of directors who will review the proposals through the following filter:

ASBA staff away for planning session
ASBA staff will be away from the office from Dec. 5-7 for the annual planning session. The office and main switchboard 1.780.482.7311 will be open.

Mossi White headlines ASBA New Trustees/Chairs Workshop in January
See the ASBA website Dec. 7 for the detailed program and fax-back registration for the ASBA’s Jan. 20-22 New Trustees/Chairs Workshop. It takes place at the Sutton Place Hotel in Edmonton.

Sessions for new chairs/vice-chairs/ trustees:
Evaluating Your CEO (Superintendent) 
Dr. Leroy Sloan, Education Consultant
Media Relations 201 (Beyond the basics)
Suzanne Lundrigan, Communications Director
Strategic Planning in Motion  
Terry Gunderson, Education Consultant
Transforming Good Intentions into Action
Dickson Wood, Consultant

General interest sessions: 
Parliamentary Procedures
Parliamentarian Kevin Feehan
Legal Issues
ASBA lawyers
Working with school councils to enhance student achievement
Michele Mulder and Trina Boymook,
Alberta Home and School Councils' Association

Mossi White, former president of the National School Boards Association, will give the keynote address.
For more information contact or .

Political commentator Mark Lisac’s
view of the unfunded liability deal
Published in Nov. 23 Insight into Government 2007
A week of diplomacy yields mixed results
The province stepped in to negotiate a five-year salary deal with teachers, leaving school boards on the sidelines; it may soon force a big change to local government in the Edmonton region; school boards and county councillors have questions. The Alberta government doesn't run the province by itself. It relies on local authorities for much of the work. But as the province grows, those relationships are being adjusted — especially relationships involving money and power, which are the two essentials of political life.

There were two major meetings of local authorities this week. Both showed the strains of adjustment, one more than the other.

School boards
The 62 boards were bystanders in negotiation of last week's agreement on teacher pensions and salaries. (The deal still has to be ratified by school boards and Alberta Teachers’ Association locals; they have until Jan. 31.)  Despite some concern about being left out of talks and about the cost to the province, most trustees at the Alberta School Boards Association fall general meeting were happy with the agreement. Some trustees had concerns about negotiation of remaining contract issues such as non-teaching supervision time.

The deadline for contract ratification sets up a potential game of chicken over those items. A little noticed byproduct of the five-year salary agreement’s effect on salary differences poses a tougher problem. Aside from special cases such as Fort McMurray, there’s an estimated $2,500 a-year difference between the highest and lowest teacher salaries in Alberta at any point on the salary grid.  The lowest-paid areas used to leapfrog other areas with each contract renewal. Now, differences between all 62 boards are locked in, and more. They will grow larger as salaries are automatically adjusted each year by the percentage increase in Alberta’s weekly average industrial wages.

There’s supposed to be no tinkering with the salary deal. Pressures may crop up. The other major point is what will happen at the end of five years. Education Minister Ron Liepert assured trustees the next salary talks in 2012 will revert to the usual methods. However, the precedent of direct talks between the ATA and Alberta Education has been set.  The ATA has been pursuing direct salary talks for years. And in some respects there is no “normal” method to resume. Bargaining has been in question since the learning commission recommended in 2003 that a group representing boards should conduct provincewide bargaining with teachers.  Ministers change; this won’t be Liepert’s problem in 2012. No one knows what will happen.

Wrap-up ASBA Fall General Meeting
Read the minister of education’s speech and the ASBA’s analysis (PDF–81K) of the memorandum of agreement regarding the unfunded pension liability on the ASBA website. We have also posted photos of the award winners.

Welcome Vince Rodgers to the ASBA staff
Vince Rodgers will join the ASBA staff as a labour relations consultant starting Dec. 1. Rodgers comes to the ASBA from the department of education. Previously he was secretary-treasurer with Buffalo Trail Public Schools. Join us in welcoming Vince to the staff.

CSBA data compares Canada's public education system with other countries
The Canadian School Boards Association prepared this snapshot of comparisons between Canada’s  public education system and other countries’ systems, providing one-stop shopping for some interesting statistics.

What’s new at www.asba.ab.ca?
See the ASBA website for the education stories that are making news. Current headlines are:
Deal means labour peace until 2012
Deal struck – no strike
County followed election rules
Former trustee files for review of election
Government to assume responsibility for ATA unfunded pension liability
School division supports provincial deal
Trustees feel slighted by teachers deal

Minutes Board of Directors meetings
Draft minutes Nov. 8-9 Board of Directors meeting

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