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Sessions start in April
ASBA offers Fiscal Accountability Training sessions
Training sessions aimed at increasing school trustees’ understanding of financial management and their oversight roles get underway in April and May. The Alberta School Boards Association and Alberta Education launched this initiative in response to the Auditor General’s 2005-2006 recommendation that school trustees receive information about the characteristics of a strong budgetary control system and best practices for fulfilling their financial monitoring responsibilities.
The ASBA seconded Mat Hanrahan, previously Assistant Deputy Minister Learning Supports, from the Department of Education to manage this project. Nine sessions will be offered across the province. See the ASBA calendar for confirmed session dates. Trustees, external members of audit committees, secretary treasurers and superintendents are invited. For more information, contact Kendra King.
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Contact the ASBA office
Need a graduation speech?
Graduation season is around the corner. New trustees and superintendents – and perhaps some veterans – may not know that the ASBA office has eight speeches available. Contact Tamara Stecyk or call her at 1.780.482.7311.
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Progressive Conservative election pitches
As reported by Bill Kaufmann in the March 2 Calgary Sun, the Progressive Conservative Party education platform includes the following:
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An additional 12,190 elementary school spaces in 18 new schools in Calgary and Edmonton over the next two years |
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A blueprint to increase high school completion rates |
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Use of P3s and other alternative construction approaches to add 10,000 middle and high school student spots |
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Cap education portion of seniors’ property taxes at 2004 levels for at least five years |
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$6 billion a year to build maintain and repair schools, hospitals, highways, urban transit, universities, colleges, parks and senior care facilities |
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Limit annual tuition increases to the inflation rate |
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Expand post-secondary spaces |
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Reduce the interest-rate loans to prime plus 2.5 per cent |
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Kathleen Rhyason appointed CASS Executive Director
Fort McMurray Public Schools Superintendent Kathleen Rhyason will become executive director of the College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS) in July. She is replacing Lee Lucente, who is retiring after seven years of service with CASS. |
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What's new @www.asba.ab.ca?
Online registration: The Time is Now: Taking
Action on School Health
Labour Information:
2007 Student, Teacher, Staff count report
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Education in the news
See the ASBA website for media stories about education. In this week's headlines:
ASBA President comments on decision to have teachers’ union police itself
A change in how complaints about teacher quality are reviewed has some school boards upset the Alberta Teachers' Association will be policing itself. ASBA President Heather Welwood said, while she can’t comment on the new regulations because she has yet to see them, there could be serious concerns for school boards depending on how the complaints are handled. "We would have concerns if the process shows it hinders a school board's ability to manage its employees," she said. "As employers, we need to be involved in the process."
Red Deer Public asks minister of education to reimburse $82,000 spent collecting info for special education review |
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