A new harassment policy has been tendered by the SRC of the Weyburn Comprehensive School for the student body, and was looked over by the Comp board on Monday night.

The administration, student services and SRC met with the students on a grade-by-grade basis at the start of the school year, and the harassment policy drafted by the SRC was put forward. The SRC has since passed the policy as official.

Principal Ken Larson said the administration would probably make some allowance for the age and maturity of the students, but if a repeated complaint is made then action will be taken.

According to the policy, harassment is defined as any comment or objectionable behaviour directed at a person based on their race, creed, religion, colour, sex or family status, and it may be verbal, physical, visual or psychological.

If a complaint is made to school administration or staff, an investigation will be made and the alleged harasser will be notified of the complaint. If the complaint was substantiated, an unspecified "appropriate corrective action" will be taken; if it isn't substantiated, no action will be taken.

A policy governing compensation for professional staff who miss school due to inclement weather did not receive full approval of the Comp board on Monday night.

The policy proposes to pay a teacher his or her full salary for a missed day due to a storm, but minus the cost of a substitute teacher, about half the salary of a teacher for a day.

Trustee Lionel Wanner had a problem with an absentee teacher being paid, especially if they choose to live outside of the city and commute here to teach.

"Show me another industry where this happens. I can't support a policy where they're paid for missing a day of work," he said.

"Across the province this is one of the most difficult areas boards have to deal with," commented education director Jan Chell, adding some boards simply deal with the issue on a case-by-case basis.

The matter doesn't just affect the Comp board, said Wanner, pointing out the Weyburn Central School Division has teachers who live in Weyburn and teach in their schools outside the city. He favoured the school board picking up the cost of the substitute rather than paying a teacher to miss a day.

"I'd rather pay for the person at work instead of the one who isn't at work," he added.

The policy would open the door to all kinds of abuse, said trustee Dick Michel.

"Another way to look at this is to have policies around exceptional circumstances. Living outside Weyburn is within your control and wouldn't apply," said Chell.

A positive message should be sent to staff, said board chairwoman Laura Chapman, telling them they are valuable and should not take unnecessary risks by travelling on icy or snowy roads. The proposed policy suggests staff find a billet or alternate place to stay in the city in the event of a storm.

Wanner suggested a guideline for what inclement weather is should be drawn up, such as using a wind chill chart similar to the one used by the bus drivers for the rural school division. The issue will be further considered by the policy committee before coming back to the board.

The final inspection of the first phase of the renovations to the Comp for the Southeast Regional College was made on Tuesday, and the second phase of the project is now underway. Chell said there are still a few loose ends to tie up for the first phase, but most of the first phase is complete.

The board discussed in closed session issues surrounding a proposal for sharing a board room and the Pic-Tel room with the regional college.

The board was also told later by secretary-treasurer Gord Young that assurances have been made by the provincial department of education there will be no shortfall in the funding for the project. The board had expressed concern to the department over the intense scrutiny given by an official to cost overruns in the joint-use project.

Young said the roof will also be inspected this week as that job has now been completed, except for the flashing on the building.

A possible side-effect of the roofers' activities was felt inside the school, as the suspended ceiling in front of the Cafetorium collapsed sometime overnight Thursday. Principal Ken Larson reported the repairs were about half-completed as of Monday night. He wasn't sure what caused the collapse, suggesting vibrations from the roofing crews may have been one factor.

The school also had to replace their football standards at a cost of $3,300, as one set had been pulled down and the other was in bad shape. The school's welding department was not able to do the job themselves as the shops were down at the time, said Larson.

A digital editing lab and TV studio is being completed in the Comp, with cabling into the Cafetorium to be completed by the end of October. Teacher Gary Frederickson has nine students enrolled in his computer production technology course, taken via distance education from Estevan.

Enrolment at the Comp is up slightly from projections for the year, said Larson, with the student population standing at 560 students as of the end of September, up by 15 from last year. Broken down by grade, there are 183 Grade 10 students, 176 in Grade 11 and 201 in Grade 12.

The school has started a breakfast program two mornings a week, offering basic items such as toast, juice, fruit and muffins. This program was begun at the request of students through the SRC. The school has hired one student, and the program may expand to four or five days a week if there is enough demand for the service.