Submitted by Norm Park, Contracted Reporter for SECPSD
The enrolment numbers in the Southeast Cornerstone Public School Division is a rolling series of digits that move up and down during the course of the school year. But, the official number, the one used to discern the level of financial support that will be forwarded to the school division by the provincial government, is recorded at the end of September.
This year, Cornerstone’s official tally was 8,267, said Lynn Little, the division’s director of education who was reporting to the trustees attending the October 11 board meeting held in Weyburn.
“But as an example, attendance today was 8,271 and the number will fluctuate throughout the year,” she said. At the end of the past school year (June 2016), the Cornerstone enrolment number was 8,206, she said. Little said an overview of the enrolment trends, indicated a decline in the city of Estevan and in area schools near that city, while others showed slight increases.
Karen Kennedy-Allin, president of the Southeast Cornerstone Teachers’ Association, provided a brief review of the association’s recent activities including a session directed by the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) and resource outlets that were revealed at a recent convention. Kennedy-Allin also indicated some changes were made to professional development sessions including online workshops, which saved money and still managed to deliver the required and desired messages.
The southeast school division trustees are forwarding a motion to be discussed at the upcoming Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) annual general meeting. The motion deals with the desire to restore one position at the SSBA that was removed last year. The provincial body had retained three lawyers in the past but had eliminated one of those positions last year. The Cornerstone motion is asking for the re-instatement of that position. “All the school boards use this service and these lawyers are well versed in education law, we need them,” said board Chairwoman Audrey Trombley.
