By GREG NIKKEL, of the Weyburn Review
The chairman of the Weyburn School Division No. 97, Eric Douglas, told ratepayers he is approaching the integration of the Weyburn Comprehensive School and Southeast Regional College with "a cautious optimism," with many steps yet to be taken before it gets underway.
The chairman made the comments at the annual ratepayers meeting for the public school and Comp school boards on Wednesday night before a sparse crowd at Haig School, made up mostly of school division staff and administrators.
Ratepayers also heard details about the school boards' financial performance in the past year, trends in enrolment for the city's public schools and the new social skills program, with worker Karyn Fleck-Zepick.
On the joint-use project at the Comp, Douglas said, "I approach this with a cautious optimism as there are still many hurdles to jump. A lot of work has been done to convince the government to support it. It's been a long three years since that first started."
As to the possibility of a performing arts centre being built at the Comp as part of the renovations for the merger, director of education Ed Kolybaba said it will be one to two years before it's known for sure if this project can be done at this time.
"Our intention is to give the performing arts centre society one year to give the word, leaving another year for construction to take place," said Kolybaba, adding he is hopeful this project will become a reality.
"I hope the society will be able to fund this project. It would be a tremendous asset to our school and to the college. It's a real plus," he said.
In answer to a ratepayer's inquiry about the project, Kolybaba said an agreement-in-principle is in place where the Comp would supply the heat, power, water and caretaking in exchange for use of the performing arts centre during school hours at no cost. The government has also provided about $200,000 which can be used either for the performing arts centre or for new space for the band and choral program.
As for when the renovations to the Comp will take place, most of these will take place this spring or summer.
The renovations to the Comp will entail the least amount of work, with the design process to take until near the end of June, followed by a three to four-week period to tender the project out. Construction should begin by late July or early August, to be ready by the start of the new school year. The work for the regional college is more complex and will take longer to complete, although the school officials were told at the ministers' news conference the college's new quarters would be ready by Sept. 1.
"I have a hard time believing that, knowing how long these things take," commented Kolybaba.
He noted the board's original estimation on Comp renovations cost was around $440,000, with the government grant set at $350,000, with a total project cost of $3.1 million. This will not include all costs, such as for a sprinkler system, but if a regulatory body states such facilities are needed, the provincial department will recognize those needs.
The topic of amalgamation with the Weyburn Central School Division had come up in the past year, said Douglas, with a motion of intent passed by both boards. The motion was tabled, however, when ratepayers in the rural school division indicated a strong level of opposition to the proposal.
"I don't see that motion coming back up, at least not in the near future," said the chairman.
He noted the Comp carried out a school effectiveness review this year which was a worthwhile process, and said copies of this study are available for anyone to check out.
On enrolment trends, Kolybaba tracked enrolment numbers back to 1981 and plotted the trends onto a line graph for both the public schools and for the Comp, with the overall trend showing a general decline in numbers.
The graph for K-12 overall showed the 1983-84 year as a high point, with a slight rise again in 1997-98 and a low point reached in 1991-92.
In his financial report, secretary-treasurer Gord Young said the board recorded a surplus of $117,446 on the year, with total expenditures of $7.6 million in 1998.
Young noted on the revenue side that 61 per cent of the budget is raised locally and 39 per cent by the government, a reversal of the funding split from just a decade ago. He added that school boards are working with the government to try and return the funding split back to the former ratio.
Karyn Fleck-Zepick, the new social skills worker in the public school system this year, explained how the program works in dealing with children with behavioural problems. She said these problems can range from children who are severely withdrawn to those who are extremely aggressive and disruptive.
Once a child has been identified, the in-school committee goes over a checklist regarding the child's behaviour and groups are formed. The groups are comprised of children of a similar age and similar behaviour problem. In these group settings, the worker will encourage pro-social behaviour and work on developing appropriate skills.
"These skills seem simple to us, but many of the children we're working with don't have these skills. We also use positive reinforcements with a token system and a store where they can cash in their tokens for prizes. At the same time we teach cognitive skills so children can understand their own behaviour, and how this behaviour prevents them from getting what they need," said Fleck-Zepick.
The groups meet for 20 sessions over three months, after which she will meet with them on occasion to follow up on how the children are doing.
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