By Pepper Parr
August 30th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The A team in the Administrative offices at the Halton District School Board has been meeting to ensure that everything is in place for the Tuesday re-opening of schools for the approximately 64,000 students, more than 4,200 elementary and secondary teachers and the 221 principals and vice principals who keep order and ensure that the educating gets done.
Director of Education Stuart Miller listening to students. Bateman parent Denise Davy. who pushed hard to keep the school open, watches how Miller handles himself,
Director of Education Stuart Miller goes through his check list – will there be enough bus drivers in place? Burlington appears to be Ok – Oakville is where the problem exists.
The high school closing decisions made late in June don’t impact the system this year – that’s a bridge to be crossed next year. The Board administration has however begun the process of putting together the team that will oversee the transition from a five high school organization to a five school set up.
Board of Education Superintendent Terry Blackwell
Miller told the Gazette that Terry Blackwell has been tasked with overseeing the transition from seven to five high schools. That is going to keep her hoping as she deals with what Gerry Cullen comes up with on the building facilities side and what Superintendent Zonnefeld does with the CPP program that Bateman has been running. There are a couple of hundred parents very anxious about what is going to be available to their children and how their integration to a new school is going to get managed.
Zonneveld has said that much of this work is going to be on a case by case basis – there is not that much commonality with these children. Each of those students face challenges that are unique to them.
The people who look after the actual structures have begun their work – figuring out just what is going to be needed at Nelson high school when the bulk of the Bateman students start showing up on September of 2020.
The trustees are where the buck is supposed to stop –
The trustees appear to have decided they didn’t want to take the opportunity for a retreat during the summer break and take a look at how they did their jobs during the past school year. Many in Burlington expect to solve that problem come the municipal election in 2018.
Organizationally the Board administration has a number of key committee: An Administrative Council; an Executive Council
Superintendents are either corporate or academic; both types participate in the weekly Admin Council meetings. Senior managers are also available for specific issues as required. Miller leads these discussions, as he does with Executive Council.
There is a weekly School Operations committee– Associate Director of Education David Boag runs this show.
The corporate side also has their weekly Business Operations meeting. Whatever comes out of these operating level meetings works its way up the Administrative Council meetings and then on up to the Executive Council
The decisions made at the Executive Council are done within parameters the trustees have set. When the tasks aren’t exactly within the guidelines Miller puts it in front of the trustees for clarification or additional authority.
From time to time a requirement crops up that calls for a change in the work load for a Superintendent.
When the decision was made to form a Program Accommodation Review (PAR), Superintendent Podrebaac was tapped to lead that task.
Superintendent Podrebarac strives to hear a parent with a viewpoint.
Scott Podrebaac has a much different view of parent participation than he had before he took on the task.
Miller told the Gazette that Terry Blackwell has been tasked with overseeing the transition from seven to five high schools. That is going to keep her hoping as she deals with what Gerry Cullen comes up with on the building facilities side and what Superintendent Zonnefeld does with the CPP program that Bateman has been running. There are a couple of hundred parents very anxious about what is going to be available to their children and how their integration to a new school is going to get managed.
Zonneveld has said that much of this work is going to be on a case by case basis – there is not that much commonality with these children. Each of those students face challenges that are unique to them.
On top of all this is the request parents from both Bateman and Pearson made to the province for an administrative review of the process that resulted in the decision.
Administrative Reviews seldom result in much in the way of change – however in this situation the province put a halt to all the PAR’s that were taking place 22 days after the HDSB had come out with its decision.
That fact might cause the pooh-bahs at Queen’s Park to stretch the decision to put all the PAR’s on hold and have it include the Halton Board.
Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon, centre, is good before a camera.
It is a stretch but the province is gearing up for an election that is ten months away and while the Burlington seat should not be at risk many in the community feel MPP Eleanor McMahon could have been a lot more proactive.
McMahon has not given her views on the decisions made – she certainly has views but the public is never going to hear them. There is a Minister of Education who will do that kind of talking – McMahon is a member of Cabinet and Cabinet solidarity is a must for political party government.
A room full of parents, many with different agendas pack a room during the public information sessions that resulted in a decision to close two of the city’s seven high schools. Will this many show up to vote in 2018?
Expect either Bateman or Pearson parents to ask some penetrating questions during the public election debates.
There are a lot of balls in the air on the educational front. The bright spot is the hundreds of children who will walk into a school on Tuesday to start grade 1.
Wish them well – they are the people who are going to ensure that you have a decent federal pension.
“The trustees appear to have decided they didn’t want to take the opportunity for a retreat during the summer break and take a look at how they did their jobs during the past school year. Many in Burlington expect to solve that problem come to the municipal election in 2018.”
I think the Trustees should have done some training this summer. Maybe AODA, learn about Special Eduation, and how to listen to the people that put them in their seats what’s that called Public Relations?
Kelly Amos could have taken a course in how to run a meeting, and what the Code of Conduct is for Trustees.
You are right – many do plan on solving the problem in the election in 2018 it’s too bad is so far away. We still have another year for these women to ruin our children’s’ education. Hopefully, now the communities that these Trustees represent will be more on the ball and keep them accountable for their actions. Problem is they don’t listen!