As Treaty people, we take this moment to honor the lands of Treaties 4 and 6, and all they have provided to us and our families across many generations. These lands have long served as traditional meeting grounds, gathering places, and traveling routes for the Cree, Dene, Nakota, Dakota, Saulteaux, and Ojibway peoples since time immemorial. We also recognize these lands as the homeland of Métis Nation Eastern Region II.

We honor the ancestors whose footsteps have shaped these lands. We acknowledge that our use of these lands has come at a profound cost, including the impacts of colonialism and the residential school system. With this recognition, we commit to working together toward reconciliation and forging a path forward that honors the past and builds a better future for all.

Make sure that you get out and vote on Wednesday, November 13 at the town hall.

Your candidates are:

• Mark Van Haastert from Bjorkdale
• George Schroepfer from Arborfield

Please contact the school if you have any questions.

Make sure that you get out and vote! It is important that our community has their say.

There have been some questions regarding issues in this election. The following information is in response to those questions and for your perusal.

What is the purpose of BP-111 Delegation of Authority? Why would the Board surrender their authority to the Director? Is this common in school divisions?

The NESD board reviewed/updated all board policies with a policy specialist (Dr. Ted Amendt) from Sask School Board Association earlier this year. In that review a comparison was complete between policies with various other school boards throughout the province. Our delegation of authority is quite comparable throughout the province.

The purpose of delegating authority from the Board to the Director is to ensure that day-to-day operations are managed by professionals with specialized expertise, allowing the Board to focus on governance rather than daily management. The North East School Division (NESD) oversees the safety and education of nearly 5,000 students and 1,000 employees, managing a $62 million organization. Effective management of this large organization requires full-time, responsive professionals, insulated from the election cycles of a volunteer board. These professionals are equipped to handle operational demands.

It may be helpful to know that in Saskatchewan, Directors and Superintendents must meet specific accreditation standards to ensure they have the qualifications necessary to run a school division effectively. For example, The League of Educational Administrators, Directors and Superintendents Act, 1991, defines the qualifications and accreditation requirement for the Director and Learning Superintendents. Our Superintendent of Business or Chief Financial Officer is a CPA, CA.

The Board’s role is not to manage daily operations but to govern the division, meeting 10-12 times a year. This governance responsibility involves setting strategic direction, approving the strategic plan, hiring and overseeing the Director, setting risk tolerance, and approving policies to guide staff. The Director (or her staff) is charged with make timely decisions on critical issues, responding to urgent incidents and managing day to day operations.

This is not just the direction taken by the NESD. Legally, as outlined in The Education Act, 1995, the Board is responsible for administering and managing the educational affairs of the school division and exercising general supervision and control through bylaws and resolutions. Practically, this means the Board provides oversight, while the Director administers and manages daily operations, under the Board’s delegation and supervision.

*Key Roles of the Board:

- Reviewing and approving the strategic plan

- Hiring the Director of Education, delegating authority, and maintaining this relationship

- Setting risk tolerance and approving guiding policies

- Approving resource allocations, particularly through the annual budget

*from the Saskatchewan School Boards Association - Education in Saskatchewan, pp. 2-3

It may be helpful to know that other policies define the limits of the director’s authority. For example, there is a limitation on spending outside of the approved annual budget, which must be authorized by the board. In addition, while the Director must oversee the creation/revisions of the administrative procedures to ensure legislative compliance and safe and efficient operations, the board has ultimate approval control.

Risks with not having this policy?

It is important to ensure we maintain a governance Board and leave the school operations/management to the Director and other leadership staff, who are trained specialist. If the Board were responsible for daily operations, there would be significant challenges. Every four years, a newly elected Board could lack the specific expertise required to effectively run a school division. This would not only create instability but also demand an unrealistic time commitment from Board members, essentially requiring them to be available full-time. In contrast, a Governance Board draws on the diverse backgrounds of its members to set the strategic direction and assess outcomes, a model that consistently leads to high-performing school divisions.

An additional key responsibility for the Board is to be accessible, effectively connecting with our communities. They bring any concerns or questions to the Director and the board as a whole. Unfortunately, social media often leads to speculation and misinformation, as people ask and answer questions without reaching out to a local Board representative for accurate information. Direct communication with Board members allows the community to receive clear and accurate responses to their concerns.

Another common questions:

Are violent incidents dealt with at the board level?

Any incident involving a specific student or staff member should not be discussed by Board members in the public. That would constitute a privacy breech.

In general terms – regarding violence in schools

• The Board holds the Director responsible to ensure mitigating actions are taken to stop or minimize the risk of violent acts occurring.
• Violent incidents in the NESD are tracked by staff in all schools and the Board has ensured that they will receive updated reporting on the incidents in our continuous agenda.
• Additionally, the Board receives reporting on Violent Threat Risk Assessments and worrisome-behavior incident rates.
• The education act along with NESD policy stipulate that a committee organized by the Director is called related to school suspensions over 10 days or an expulsion.
• The role of the school division is not to punish student behaviors with suspension, but to intervene with support to ensure students do not reach a point where they have violent behavior. Having said that, from time to time there are instances when student safety is a risk, and a child must be temporarily excluded from being educated within an NESD school. The school division utilize the new AP 426 – Temporary Exclusion to support this instance.

Additionally, the NESD currently has a trustee (Marla Walton) on the Provincial “Violence in the Workplace Working Advisory Group”. We look forward to seeing the results of their work.

The dental people will be in Wednesday and Thursday of this week to complete the work as discussed in the communication that went home. Call the school if you have any questions.

Come give basketball officiating a try at our school. Great pay and respectful learning environment. There will be a clinic held on November 26th at 6:30 at TMSS in Tisdale. If you are interested in officiating and or going to the clinic please contact Mr. Bloski.

Mrs. Patchin has stepped up in a big way this year by taking on a Jr. Girls coaching position. Her willingness to volunteer and learn a new role is greatly appreciated by our staff and students. The new relationships she has built will be valued by our young athletes for years to come. Thank you for all that you do for Bears Athletics.

Amerikka Thomasgard has developed into not only a great player but a strong leader. She is a middle force on the Jr. Girls volleyball team and has demonstrated growth through her leadership actions which do not go unnoticed by her teammates. Keep up the good work Amerikka.

Kruze Boyko is our Bears Athlete pick of the month for his strong performance in Cross Country. One day Kruze "just felt like runnin" and since then he has being clipping along through the country side. He has found a great physical activity option he can continue far beyond his High school years. Great job Kruze.

Bears Athletics is looking for coaches for the upcoming school year, mainly Sr. Boys Basketball, Track and Field. and an assistant for Girls Volleyball but if you are interested in others let us know. Please contact Mr. Bloski for details.

Please note, as we get used to this new system, please be aware that punch card balances may be up to 1 week behind.

You can click the button below to check on how much your child has left on his/her punch card. To help support privacy, we have developed account numbers for each student. The account number is their grade followed by the last 4 digits of the phone number we have on file. For example, my son Noah is in grade 5. His account number would be 059017.

Once you click the link below and find your child's account number, you will see a number to the left of their account number (i.e. 17). That number will not change, so you only have to remember that number going forward.

We hope that this will help our families.