For parents of Waverly Road (Sunnyside) students.

Please be aware that you have the right to apply for an out of area transfer to stay at Sunnyside. Please see the Principal to collect a transfer sheet if that is something you are interested in doing. In the procedures of the Out of Area transfer, there is a procedure on sibling rights. Basically, this procedure gives priority to siblings of students who have already been accepted though an out of area transfer request. Please speak with administrative staff at the school about any requests.

What's next after the boundary reviews?

I have put in a notice of motion for the Board to reconsider the vote on BSS in a P-6 format. Please ensure you send a note to school board members supporting my motion to reconsider.

I have also asked staff to ensure a quick process is implemented to ensure parents on the East side of Bedford have quick access to out of area transfers if they want to stay at Sunnyside. More to follow.

April 25 Board Meeting.

During this meeting, we voted on boundary changes in District 7. Staff has recommended that we follow the recommendations from the report. Please see the HRSB website for details on changes.

Board members need to hear your thoughts so please email me so I can forward to other Board members. If you would like to speak at the event, email the Corporate secretary through the HRSB website to be added to the list.  

Link to the Bedford Boundary Report.

This week

We have had some very hard conversations this week at HRSB. We have received our profile sheets from the province and by the time you calculate our cost pressures- we will have over $9 million cut from our Board. In addition to that, the DOE has recognized that HRSB is being short funded to the tune of $12 million. This money is flowing to other boards in the province. This makes it extremely difficult for HRSB to attempt new programs and projects. We have launched an IT project at three schools and it is going very well. Unfortunately, we don't have the funds needed to expand this program. Please ensure your MLAs hear your thoughts around education funding, whatever they may be.

Please see my Dave's view page for some thoughts on our most recent boundary review,  our capital plan and some thoughts on the Eastern Passage announcement.

April

Praise for DOE

In the most recent education announcements, the DOE has announced that Junior Achievement courses will be recognized towards students work in high school. I think this is a big win for JA and DOE. JA is delivering great content that covers finance, entrepreneurship, sales, marketing and interpersonal relationships. I attended JA courses for 2 years and it really led me into a career in business and business school at Dalhousie. I made great friends and got some experiences I could not have received in the confines of school.

NEW POSITION AT DOE

Very interested to note that a new executive level position has been created at the DOE to work with the Boards. I found this to be very odd as at a time the Department and province are asking for restraint, they are offering a new role to a person who has been essentially in this role for the last three years. I hope this was not an added salary on the backfill.

Cuts are coming

Expect cuts of $8-$10 million this year from the HRSB budget for the coming fiscal year. This will play a role in our staffing and ability to deliver some programs. The unfortunate part of this is that the programming is being cut to pay for the new NDP/DOE programming. I hope that this program works fast and furiously and make some big inroads for the sake of the province.

My last few months on the Board

This is my last year in the elected role for HRSB. I am hopeful that I will have some questions from potential new Candidates about my experience and time expectations etc. It has been at times very rewarding, and at times frustrating but a great way to serve your community. Look for more on my Dave's view page.