Welcome to our first meeting of 2024 and to this new year. Tonight, council members wearing green felt squares are doing so in solemn recognition of the National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack shooting (6 deaths and 19 injuries by gunfire) on January 29, 2017 and in solidarity for Action Against Islamophobia.

Welcome to a new year at the school board where there is much to look forward to in the coming weeks and months, including the educational and cultural activities to celebrate Black History month and the honouring of the legacy of Black people in Canada and in their communities. It is also the Chinese New Year coming soon, on February 10th. As well, there will be an important week coming in February where appreciation of the LBPSB staff will be celebrated.

Welcome to a year, where in addition to all of the wonderful learning and related activities that will take place at all of our schools and centres, new families and students will be proudly joining the LBPSB community during the registration period for the 2024-2025 school year, which is from January 15th – February 7th.

Welcome also to a year where we can anticipate that English school board elections will take place on November 3, 2024. To ensure you can participate in voting in the elections, please be certain your name is on the electoral list, and if you are considering running in this election, it is never too early to start the process of researching the steps to become candidate for one of the 12 electoral divisions in the LBPSB or for Chairperson of the LBPSB. Our current Council of Commissioners, representing its constituents with passion for educational issues and concerns, is immersed in committee and policy work, attending governing board meetings and school events, and bringing the questions and topics of conversation from their school communities to the Council table.

Officially, according to the Education Act,
“Every school board shall be administered by a council of commissioners …”:

In addition to our 12 elected commissioners and the Chairperson, our Council includes 3 Commissioners representing the parents, and 1 Commissioner representing the Special Needs Advisory Committee (SNAC). Plus, at our Council meetings, we are joined by 2 student commissioners from the Central Students’ Committee (CSC).

In section 176.1. of the Education Act it states the following regarding our roles and responsibilities, to state a few:

“The members of the council of commissioners shall exercise their functions and powers, with due regard for everyone’s role and responsibilities, with a view to improving the educational services provided for by this Act and by the basic school regulations made by the Government. To that end, the role of the members of the council of commissioners includes:

(1) informing the council of the needs and expectations of the population of their electoral division or their sector, as part of their contribution to defining the school board’s directions and priorities;
(1.1) ensuring that the schools and centres receive adequate support;

(2) seeing to the relevance and quality of the educational services offered by the school board;

(3) making sure that the school board’s human, material and financial resources are managed effectively and efficiently; and

(4) carrying out any mandate entrusted to them by the council of commissioners, on a proposal by the chair, for the purpose of providing information to the other council members on any specific matter.”

Furthermore:
“Every school board shall appoint a director general and an assistant director general. In the cases prescribed by regulation of the Minister under section 451, the board may appoint more than one assistant director general.”

This information outlines some of the official roles and responsibilities of the Council of Commissioners. At the LBPSB we also have the honour of working with the many dedicated individuals, including the senior administration, to fulfill the vision and values of the LBPSB, in the work we do collaboratively and with the best intentions for the best outcomes for the students of the LBPSB.

In speaking for the Council tonight, I would like to state that we are committed to the work we will be doing in the coming months as we complete our mandate, and that we are proud to be a part of and to serve the LBPSB as elected officials. We also will do our work respectfully and with kindness for our amazing community.

Thank you.