The public school board heard Monday at their meeting the SaskEnergy utility rate increase may cost up to $10,000 for the board's three Kindergarten to Grade 9 schools next year.

Secretary treasurer Gord Young said the rate increase is estimated to cost at least $10,000 on top of the existing utility bills. Although he said the increase is a relatively small amount in the scope of the budget, small expenses still add up.

"It creates a hardship on our ratepayers," he said.

Young also said large snowbanks piled up around Assiniboia Park Elementary School as a result of the city's snow removal are becoming a safety hazard, because the banks act as an obstruction in the line of sight for drivers.

Director of education Jan Chell said three teachers had recently attended an information session in Minneapolis, Minn., to learn more about the accelerated reader program.

The program was launched at Assiniboia Park Elementary School a few months ago and is now running at all three elementary schools governed by the board.

Sheila Janke, an instructor currently on leave, also gave a presentation at the meeting on her work with scotopic sensitivity, a companion to dyslexia particularly affecting the readability of black and white letters, causing words to appear backwards, bunched together, or blurred.

Janke said a surprisingly large percentage of the population suffers from this condition, including several people within Weyburn. The condition is treatable with the use of coloured lenses or transparencies on top of pages.

Janke said she gave the presentation in order to inform new board members on the work she has done in this area.

The board also received copies of the resolutions passed at the recent Saskatchewan School Trustee Association's (SSTA) convention, and passed a motion to allow teachers and principals of children who participated in Stats Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children to also be surveyed by Stats Canada.