Kingsford-Smith PAC Meeting Minutes

December 2, 2015

7:05pm start

9:19 pm adjourned

  1. Welcome
  2. Meeting minutes from November motioned. DavinderSandhu motioned to pass. Helen Kwan seconded motion. No objections. Passed.
  3. Seismic update from Chris Atkinson
  4. No updates
  5. Johnny: any questions from parents?
  6. Eric:
  7. Thank you to Chris Atkinson for attending
  8. Seismic plan divides parent community – the community is divided on this plan
  9. Feedback was presented at Committee 2 in June 2014. What happened to the feedback? No response was received.
  10. Chris: project team consists of Gowa Kong, Chris Atkinson, Raymond (engineer), and architects. The team reports to the steering committee. The input (from parents) is considered but when info is presented to parent community, it is important to note that the process is not intended to be for consensus or approval. Input from parent community was considered but in the global picture (for all 60+ schools) this was the best plan.
  11. Eric: on the PDR, Allan Wong (trustee) had directed that the mechanical projects be reviewed for inclusion in seismic plan.
  12. Chris: negotiation with Ministry is not open until PDR is signed. PDR is still under review and awaiting Ministry approval.
  13. Eric: recycling fee for hazardous materials (renovations) is high. Was it considered?
  14. Chris: recycling fee was considered
  15. Parent: what are the options to keep school together
  16. Chris: one option was swing site at 43rd and Fraser (South Hill) but it wasn’t recommended by long-term facilities, as there is another project ahead of KSM. Another option was renting retail space as a swing site.
  17. Parent: what about portable gym? Chris: not an option.
  18. Parent: what about option of moving the two smaller school communities into one. Distance is not significant and the cost of transportation is lower. Chris: politically challenging due to perspective of closing the school.
  19. At last Committee 2, there were 9 options considered. One of them was the retail space rental.
  20. Johnny: on the concept of approvals, the VSB has to approve and then…? Chris: VSB Steering Committee at the Project Office reviews and approves and then it goes to Ministry of Education and then to Treasury Board (Ministry of Finance).
  21. Johnny: where is the project plan? Chris: it is gone to the Ministry of Education.
  22. Johnny: district plan (swing plan) – is that approved? Chris: not yet. Johnny: when will it be approved? Chris: Patti Bacchus is the best person to get that information from.
  23. Eric: media reported the $35 million fund? Chris: VSB put in for $5 million of the $35 million, however, it was not approved for VSB.
  24. Eric: what other schools are split? Chris: Gordon is the only one at the moment.
  25. Eric: any school that has opposed to plan? Chris: yes, Gordon. Gordon was stalled. It was originally started in 2005. Gordon originally opposed for heritage reason.
  26. Johnny: there was discussion to have a bunch of schools closed so that would save on seismic investment. What was the list of schools that could be closed? Chris: not publicized.
  27. Parent: Are we accepting kindergarten students during seismic upgrade? Gowa: yes. Notice is provided to those interested parents who register for KSM.
  28. Parent: what are the options to voice opinion on the plan? Chris: Committee 2 and the Ministry.
  29. Johnny: discussion on retrofit vs new school by Patti Bacchus. Chris: it’s by scale
  30. Parent: How many school communities that have been split up? Chris: we are second to Gordon.
  31. Parent: child getting anxious and expressed not wanting to go to another school.
  32. Parent: in regards to ratings, if we go down this path, and then there are still district plans, would the VSB plan identify what rating the school needs to be at? Chris: The district plan is not going to look at what safety rating? Getting up to the highest standard, we aren’t getting up the money.
  33. November minutes: Eric Seto motioned. Tony Barta seconded. All passed.
  34. Treasurer’s Report: As of end of November 2015
  35. Business account TODAY’S BALANCE:$5579.08.
  36. Gaming accountTODAY’S BALANCE: $13276.97gaming fund
  37. Principal’s Report:
  38. See attached.
  39. Mr. Ion (Grade 7) is retiring.
  40. Christmas concert is scheduled for next Thursday, December 10.
  41. Ministry notified VSB that teachers need to have completed 10 hours curriculum training. This means that the teachers will be out of the classes for those 10 hours.
  42. Helping Hands fundraising with the Christmas store.
  43. Lots of fundraising.
  44. Need to discuss preparing students for changes. One of the strategies is teaching Random Acts of Kindness. This is research based.
  45. Report cards to go home on December 17th.
  1. Discussion with parents on seismic plan:
  2. Parents in favour of accepting plan as presented? Or is there appetite to challenge the plan?
  3. Eric: personal goal is to submit a petition (December 10) to VSB, Ministry, and all parties to oppose the plan. The petition would be the same as the one presented at the Carnival last school year. Also, would like to reach out to the media with the position that the parents are stuck in the middle of battle between Ministry and VSB. What is the PAC’s position?
  4. Johnny: my thought and view of what we have accomplished, we are unable to influence stakeholders (decision makers) on this project. Continue to influence based on the options provided. Continue to lobby.
  5. Johnny: What is the expected outcome? We are publicly forcing the VSB and Ministry to address it. If that happens, then the risk is that there is a delay.
  6. Adjourn meeting at 9:19 pm. Motion: Sam Low. Second: Ken Lee. Passed.

Principal’s Report – December 2, 2015

For motion at next PAC meeting