Holy Trinity Catholic School Division’s board of education kicked off the 2023-24 year with its annual organizational meeting, which included naming a board chair and vice-chair.
Trustees re-elected Joann Blazieko as board chair and elected Derek Hassen as vice-chair during the Aug. 21 meeting. Blazieko has served as chairwoman for several years, while Hassen has served as chair and vice-chair in past years.
Financial decisions
The board voted to approve Chief Financial Officer Curt Van Parys and the director of education, board chair or board vice-chair as signing officers for the 2023-24 year.
Furthermore, the board approved a $500,000 operating line of credit (LOC) through the Royal Bank of Canada for this fiscal year, which commences Sept. 1 and ends Aug. 31, 2024.
A board report noted that the line of credit is adequate to meet the school division’s cash flow needs. If unforeseen cash-flow changes required the division to use the LOC on a short-term basis and exceed the limit, RBC would facilitate short-term borrowing in excess of that amount.
“The risk of unforeseen cash-flow changes has increased with the recent approval of the joint-use school project and École St. Margaret (School) minor capital program project,” the report said.
The LOC’s interest rate is Royal Bank’s prime minus one per cent per year.
Meanwhile, the board approved a motion to appoint Virtus Group Chartered Professional Accountants and Business Advisors LLP as the auditor for the 2023-24 year.
Also, trustees approved its indemnity guide for this year, which lays out how much money members are reimbursed for attending events.
The guide shows that trustees receive $300 for attending annual school events, $250 for board meetings (trustees), $350 for board meetings (chair), $100 for professional development, conferences or committee meetings involving Prairie South, Chinook, audits, or director/board evaluations, and $100 for committee meetings or events (ad hoc) such as town halls, city council, school tours or education minister visits.
Furthermore, the board will receive $100 for parish council and school community school meetings, $250 for the chairperson to attend Saskatchewan School Boards Association board chair council meetings, $50 for conference calls under 45 minutes and $100 for conference calls over 45 minutes.
The maximum daily allowable indemnity is $350 for trustees and $450 for the chairperson, the report added.
Committees
Trustees have been appointed to the following committees and to represent certain schools:
- St. Joseph parish council: Allison Bradish, with Blazieko as alternate
- Church of Our Lady parish council: Hassen, with Christine Boyzcuk as alternate
- In Moose Jaw, Bradish is the rep at Sacred Heart, Boyczuk at St. Agnes and St. Michael, Blazieko at St. Margaret and Phoenix Academy, and Hassen at St. Mary and Vanier
- In Swift Current, Ted Wallin is the rep at All Saints School and on the community’s parish council
- In Shaunavon, Stephanie Nelson is the rep at Christ the King School and on the community’s parish council
- Boyczuk is the board’s rep on the provincial Catholic school board association
- Hassen is the audit committee’s chairman
Meanwhile, all board meetings — unless otherwise noted — are held at the division office. This year meetings are on Sept. 26, Oct. 16, Nov. 18, Dec. 18, Jan. 15, 2024 (virtual), Feb. 19, 2024, March 18, 2024, April 8, 2024 (Swift Current), May 13, 2024, June 17, 2024, and Aug. 19, 2024.
In response to some providers blocking access to Canadian news on their platforms, our website, MooseJawToday.com will continue to be your source for hyper-local Moose Jaw news. Bookmark MooseJawToday.com and sign up for our free online newsletter to read the latest local developments.
