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Looking after district spaces inside and out

Wed, 8 May, 2013

Looking after district spaces inside and out

At yesterday’s regularly scheduled board meeting, the Board of Trustees approved two motions that will assist the District in monitoring its use of space inside schools and in caring for exterior spaces near schools.

Trustees approved a motion to develop an optimal enrolment measure for all district elementary and junior high schools. The new measure will enable the Board of Trustees to determine how effectively the District is using school space to support board priorities in a way that reflects board values.

“Our Board believes strongly that our school space should be used to provide a range of services to our students and their families,” says Board Chair Sarah Hoffman. “This measure will give us a better way to monitor that use.”

Trustees also approved a motion to restrict the application of pesticides on land near schools. Use of pesticides would be reserved for situations where it was not possible to otherwise control weeds that posed a threat to the health and safety of students and staff, or a threat to biodiversity, where the weeds could change the ecosystem on a fundamental level. This expectation will be added to the existing Board Policy FO.BP – Environment as part of the policy review process.

“In approving these two motions, the Board considered first and foremost what was best for our students and staff,” says Board Chair Hoffman. “These decisions also demonstrate how the Board is following through on provincial direction to pursue community partnerships in our work.”