CHAIR’S MESSAGE
It has been another year of change and growth within the Limestone District School Board. I am pleased to report that the new Limestone District School Board of Trustees ended the first year of our four-year term with many achievements and successes.
Trustees learn about various initiatives to support student achievement and well-being during Board meetings.
In addition to welcoming new trustees, we also welcomed a new provincial government. Trustees spent a considerable part of the new school year reviewing policies and procedures, and hearing about the impact of changes to funding, curriculum, and other ministry directives from Board staff.
Despite a lot of change in a short amount of time, and significant fiscal constraints and delays throughout the budget process, Trustees approved a balanced budget of $244.7 million for operations for the 2019-2020 school year. The majority of the budget – almost 79% – is directed to classroom instruction which includes staffing costs for teachers and support staff.
We also reviewed the second year of the Board’s five-year strategic plan based on the pillars of Wellness, Innovation and Collaboration. Using the Action Plan Evaluation Framework, we have carefully monitored the progress under each pillar goal and area of focus. The framework uses a traffic light system – green for on target; yellow for making progress and red for needs further attention – to allow Trustees, and the public, to easily see the status of each initiative. Trustees reviewed the year-end report for the 2019-2020 school year at the November Board Meeting, and I am pleased to report that our Board is well positioned to meet our goals in support of our mission and vision.
My sincere thanks to our outgoing Trustees for their years of dedication to students, staff, and families. I look forward to continuing to work in collaboration with our new Board in service to our students. We are indeed fortunate to govern over a district that is well positioned to best support the achievement and well-being of all of our students, as the region’s only fully-inclusive public school board.