April 22, 2010 – 11:32 pm
In response (it would seem) to questions and concerns about the details of their personal expense accounts, District 42 school trustees have given first reading to two new policies.
The Trustee Professional Development and Attendance at Conferences policy and the Trustee - Provision of Resources policy are both posted to the school district website and public comment is invited until the end of April (2010).
As I have pointed out previously, some trustees are putting in for expense reimbursement at a rate of more than $5,000 annually during the 2008/2009 period - as reported within the required Statement of Financial Information (SOFI).
The [...]
March 27, 2010 – 11:24 am
This post is an addendum to yesterdays post B.C. Public Education - Who is minding the shop?
“Transparency” is a popular word used to describe the concept of open government. But what, exactly, does in mean in practical terms?
Here is my working definition. I welcome comments and suggestions.
Government/public institution transparency consists of four key components:
The depth and breadth of the information available to the public
The effectiveness of communication around what information is available
The ease and convenience of locating the information
The level of accessibility of the information to the average member of the public. For example, formatting and plain language packaging.
Trustees not authors of reform
School Watch by Katherine Wagner
The Maple Ridge - Pitt Meadows Times, March 26, 2010
A cabinet minister proposes a provincial government transparency task force. The premier holds an open vote in the legislature on the idea. MLAs reject the task force on the grounds “they already share enough information with the public.” Legislative reporters write about it. The public doesn’t react and MLAs take this as a sign they made the right decision.
Sound implausible? Substitute your elected school trustees, and the above scenario played out in Maple Ridge last month.
February 23, 2010 – 12:42 pm
This morning I called in to CKNW’s Bill Good Show during a focused open line segment. The topic (which few callers stuck to) was the finding of a Historica-Dominion Institute survey “that the Vancouver Olympic Games are a defining national moment in Canadian history”. Bill Good asked callers about the events they consider “defining”.
February 6, 2010 – 10:24 am
Trustees shouldn’t put up barriers to information
School Watch by Katherine Wagner
The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Times, February 05, 2010
Pitt Meadows parent Karen Georgi is puzzled: “Didn’t all the new trustees run on an open and transparent platform, with the promise that they would be open to public questions?”
Georgi, who is also PAC chair at Davie Jones Elementary, regularly attends Board of Education meetings and began asking questions about the local Statement of Financial Information (SOFI) report soon after it was released in December.
“I basically asked what happened and how they could have spent so much in six months? I got [...]
January 26, 2010 – 1:42 pm
(This is a repost of the article I posted Friday - the original post was not visible to anyone using Internet Explorer. I believe the problem is now fixed.)
School Watch by Katherine Wagner
The Maple Ridge - Pitt Meadows Times, January 22, 2010
As we enter the second decade of the new millennium, our public education system is still struggling to find and embrace its 21st Century role.
Over the last 30 years, information and technology have increased at an explosive pace. The skills and knowledge citizens require to minimally participate in society have more than doubled. There is almost no room to [...]
January 21, 2010 – 9:58 pm
While I have an opinion about assessment in general and the FSAs in particular, I have hesitated to write much about it this year. (I’ve written about FSAs in the past and I may post an article or two if there is interest)
My reason for hesitating is simple. I do not believe this issue is, at its root, about FSAs at all.
January 6, 2010 – 4:45 pm
Today, BCCPAC published a parents guide to the FSA (Foundation Skill Assessment) tests. It was put together by a committee in response to an AGM motion. I think the committee has done a good job of presenting a factual, non partisan information sheet. It’s a complicated subject and deserves more attention from parents than some of the political sound bytes might suggest.
BCCPAC’s information sheet can be found here.
Cathy Abraham and Joyce Gram’s guide to student assessment in BC can be found here.
December 22, 2009 – 11:59 am
How many taxpayer dollars is it reasonable and appropriate for school trustee’s to spend on personal expenses?
All elected trustees in the province receive an annual stipend (in some cases the amounts are large enough to term it pay or salary).
One-third of this stipend is tax free. While I was a school trustee (1996-2005), it was explained to us that the one-third is considered “unreceipted expenses”. In practice this was interpreted to mean any “in district” expenses including automobile costs.
Once a year, in December, school districts are required to prepare and make public a report called [...]
December 19, 2009 – 11:46 pm
Please read my School Watch column about the recently-concluded, long-extended school closure process in Maple Ridge, BC - published in the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Times on Friday (Dec. 18th)
Process punishing to schools
A week and a half ago, I reported on the public board of education meeting and the decision by trustees to close two elementary schools.
During the same meeting, the annual SOFI report was presented to school trustees. It wasn’t posted on the school district website the next day and I finally got around to reading it last Wednesday.
This document is an interesting catalogue of salaries and expenses [...]
Loading ...