Pembina Hills trustee Maureen Kubinec elected President of the ASBA

School boards support move to legislated, centralized school board controlled bargaining model

Release date: November 24, 2004

School boards elect new association president and vice-president
Maureen Kubinec, a trustee with the Pembina Hills Regional School Division (Barrhead Westlock), has been elected president of the Alberta School Boards Association for the next 18 months. Kubinec previously served as ASBA vice-president. She has been a school trustee for 15 years. Four trustees ran for the presidency: Kubinec, Don Fleming, Edmonton Public Schools; Debbie Engel, Edmonton Catholic Schools; and Pat Cochrane, Calgary Public Schools. Kubinec and her husband Tim farm in the Westlock area. “Bringing school boards together to develop the new legislated centralized, school board controlled bargaining model will be the biggest challenge in the coming months,” said Kubinec. “I am confident we will be successful with the help of the province’s school boards and the ASBA’s leadership team.” Maureen Emond, a trustee with the Calgary Catholic Schools’ Board of Education, was elected vice-president of the ASBA.

School boards make major policy change re how to bargain with teachers
The ASBA’s November 22 meeting saw school boards make a major shift in policy when they dropped a longstanding position supporting local bargaining with teachers and endorsed a move to establish a legislated, centralized, school board controlled teacher bargaining model. School boards will begin work shortly on the new model, with a view to considering a detailed model in the spring of 2005.

Edmonton Public Schools’ Board of Education receives
Premier’s Award for School Board Innovation and Excellence
A project that sees seven inner city Edmonton Public schools pool their resources to serve 1,700 students with a wide range of special needs – from behavior and literacy problems to adolescent schizophrenia – received the 2004 Premier’s Award for School Board Innovation and Excellence. The $3,000 award is sponsored by The Document Company Xerox and recognizes school boards’ role in launching innovative programs to improve student achievement. The award was presented Nov. 23 at the ASBA’s Fall General Meeting. Eleven boards were in the running for the 2004 award.

Students attending the seven City Centre Education Project schools have access to: full day kindergarten; literacy programs; specialist teachers for core and enrichment courses; teacher-librarians; mentors; school-sponsored family events and parent information sessions; morning snack programs; family therapy and an aboriginal cultural facilitator. Collaboration between schools, parental involvement and partnerships with the community have created learning environments where students can succeed as evidenced by preliminary studies of the impact of this program.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada – Alberta Region receives
2004 ASBA Friends of Education Award

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada – Alberta Region received the ASBA Friends of Education Award in recognition of its significant contribution to education in Alberta. This award recognized BBBS of Canada – Alberta Region’s work with an in-school mentoring program.

For more information contact: Suzanne Lundrigan, ASBA Communications at 1.780.451.7122 (office) or 1.780.940.1671 (cell).

The Alberta School Boards Association serves and represents all Alberta’s public, separate and francophone school boards.