Interlake School Division recently hosted a meeting that was a true lesson in community collaboration.
On Monday, Jan. 12, representatives from the school division met with municipal partners at the Quarry Park Heritage Arts Centre in Stonewall. Attendees at the meeting included representatives from Stonewall, Teulon, Rockwood, Rosser, Woodlands, Armstrong, West St. Paul and St. Andrews.
Representatives from the Interlake School Division recently met with municipal partners at the Heritage Arts Centre in Stonewall
The last session of its kind was held nearly seven years ago, and school board chair Alan Campbell expects to see more municipal partner sessions going forward.
“In recognition of our shared responsibility to the communities we serve, the board wanted to once again bring all of our municipal partners together for an opportunity for us to share details about our budget development process, our current significant fiscal challenges due to chronic underfunding by the provincial government and, perhaps most importantly, to highlight ways that we can collaborate more meaningfully going forward — both as the division with all of our municipal partners but also in cases where it makes sense for us to work in particular communities with particular councils,” Campbell said.
“There was an obvious need for the division to share some key details with our municipal partners about how the school division generates its revenue and spends its $50-million budget. We were deliberate in our efforts to maximize our time together and so we sought their input prior to the event.”
As a result of this advance engagement, the school board was able to share key details on several topics. To start, attendees learned about the provincially funded school nutrition program and what it looks like while operating in each ISD public school — including operational details about acquisition and distribution of food in partnership between the division and Community Living Interlake.
They also learned about division-based decisions on changes to parent advisory council fundraising processes, with $250,000 in annual investments by the school division for playgrounds and school grounds improvements.
In addition, discussions focused on division-based initiatives to support students with additional needs, as well as students and families who require extra supports for mental health resources and guidance to navigate social services, health services and the justice system.
“Feedback from those in attendance has been very positive,” Campbell said. “Both municipal reps and trustees enjoyed the opportunity hear and learn from one another. There is a strong interest in having an event of this kind on a more regular, perhaps annual, basis.”
Rosser Reeve Ken Mulligan said the school division reached out prior to the meeting to ask for topics that the municipal partners wanted to discuss. Rosser council brought forward several topics, including program cuts that affect vulnerable youth at critical ages without consultation with the municipality. Other topics included daycare, municipal funding of school infrastructure and the potential for future ongoing dialogue between the RM and the school division — which could include what each side is doing that could be complementary to each other.
Overall, Mulligan felt the session was beneficial, especially since it was the first time such a session has taken place in recent memory. He said it’s too early to tell if it will lead to better collaboration and partnership, but he’s hopeful.
“As municipalities and the school division are governed by elected members, dialogue is important for each side to understand what is happening in their areas they govern and especially with powers of taxation. We hope this opens the door to further such dialogue, sessions and fosters sense of community,” Mulligan said.
“Possibly this may lead to better communication between individual RMs and their trustee. Any time people from different organizations get together to talk, it’s a good thing. We believe this process should be continued and we look forward to the next one.”
For the meeting, the Town of Teulon broached the topic of school taxes, including how they are being spent.
“I thought the session was beneficial in that it gave the municipalities the chance to discuss concerns with the school division representatives and other municipalities,” said Chris Yuen, chief administrative officer for the Town of Teulon.
Once the school board has received feedback from all the municipal partners, Campbell said they will work on a summary sheet to provide more details.
“The more we are able to build clarity and understanding, the more collaboration will occur naturally,” Campbell said.
“The board of trustees is very appreciative of those municipal councillors and CAOs who took the time to join us for an important evening.”
