DESIRÉE DECOSTE

STAFF WRITER

A familiar face will be staying at the head of the Board of Trustees table at the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board while a local face will be serving in a vice-chair capacity.

At Monday night’s HPEDSB public meeting a new Chair and Vice-Chair were elected from the board of Trustees as well as which members were on the statutory committees for 2021. The Board of Trustees found it fit to re-elect North Hastings Trustee Lucille Kyle as Chair of the Board and elected North Prince Edward Trustee Jennifer Cobb as Vice-Chair of the Board with their duties beginning immediately.

Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board Chair Lucille Kyle. (Jason Parks/Gazette Staff)

Kyle expressed appreciation upon being re-elected and acknowledged the continuity she brings to the lead role at the Board table. She was first elected in December 2010, was re-elected in the 2014 municipal election and was acclaimed in the 2018 municipal election. Kyle has served as vice-chair and chair at various times since 2014.

“I want to thank you for the opportunity to serve as chair of the board,” expressed Chair Kyle. “As we all know 2020 has been like no other school year any of us have had to face. Our staff right to the Director Sean Monteith, senior staff and all the front lines have stood the test of time as they’ve worked through the changes for the education and the success of our students across the region. Thank you for the incredible amount of work you have done, we know for many of our staff members it comes with a cost and are exhausted and overwhelmed by the demands that have come to you this year. Your health and wellbeing matter to us and our hope is you can take these couple of weeks coming up to rest, rejuvenate, enjoy friends and family as much as your allowed and I want to say a huge thank you to all of you.”

Kyle, trustee for North Hastings, has served on several committees, including: Equity and Inclusivity Advisory Committee; Food for Learning Partnership; Indigenous Education Advisory Committee; Leadership Development Steering Committee; Mental Health Leadership Team; Program and Human Resources Committee; Operations and Finance Committee; and Supervised Alternative Learning Committee

Chair Kyle went on to thank students and families for sending their children back to school whether that be virtually or in a classroom as everyone was anxious at the start but took the opportunity and jumped right in.

“To our students and families, thank you for sending your children back to school both virtually and in the class rooms,” Chair Kyle stated. “You know more than anyone that your children need their peers, their classroom supports and to learn in a way they are comfortable and familiar. We were all anxious at the start but you all jumped in and it was great to hear the laughter of children again all together and I love driving by schools and seeing them playing outside, school buses lined up on the streets and people getting back to the new norm, thank you to all of you.”

Cobb, Trustee for North Prince Edward, acknowledged that her history on the Board provides her with the background to fulfill the vice-chair role. She was first elected in December 2010 and was acclaimed in the 2014 and 2018 municipal elections.

Cobb has served on several committees including: Audit Committee; Great Place Awards Committee; Mental Health Leadership Team; Program and Human Resources Committee; Safe Schools Advisory Committee; Specialist High Skills Major Advisory Committee; and Student Enrolment/School Capacity Committee

“I want to say thank you,” said Cobb. “I pledge to work with you all openly and transparently and to hear your opinion as diverse as they are and to facilitate discussion so that we all look at all points and come to good governance decisions and I thank you for your support. This is an honour.”

Trustees also selected membership on statutory committees. For 2021 statutory committees will consist of the following members:

Executive Committee: Lucille Kyle, Jennifer Cobb and Mike Brant.
Indigenous Trustee Representative: Mike Brant.
Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) (in place until November 2022): Lisa Anne Chatten, Kristen Parks will be the active member. Mike Brant and Lucille Kyle will be the alternates.
Supervised Alternative Learning (SAL) Committee: Mike Brant, Krista McConnell will be the active members. Kristen Parks will be the alternate.
Audit/Finance Committee: Shannon Binder, Jennifer Cobb and Bonnie Danes will be the active members.
Accessibility Advisory Committee: Lisa Anne Chatten will be the active member. Bonnie Danes will be will be the alternate.
Parent Involvement Committee: Krista McConnell will be the active member. Alison Kelly will be the alternate.
Student Discipline Committee: All trustees; will serve on a rotating basis with a minimum of three required to conduct a suspension appeal or expulsion hearing.

For 2021, administrative committees will consist of the following members:

Indigenous Education Advisory Committee: Mike Brant and Kristen Parks.
Equity and Inclusivity Advisory Committee: Mike Brant and Kristen Parks.
Instructional Technology Advisory Committee: Krista McConnell.
Leadership Development Steering Committee: Shannon Binder.
Safe Schools Advisory Committee: Bonnie Danes.
Specialist High Skills Majors Advisory Committee: Spencer Hutchison.
Mental Health Leadership Team: Kristen Parks will be the active member. Shannon Binder will be the alternate.

External committees

Food for Learning Partnership: Spencer Hutchison.
Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) (in place now through to May 2021): Lisa Anne Chatten is the active member. Alison Kelly is the alternate.

Following the meeting, Kyle expressed appreciation to her colleagues.

“To my colleagues, thank you for your flexibility, your understanding and your patience as we navigate through this time,” Kyle said. “Our roll comes with many challenges yet we are so blessed to be a part of the HPEDSB team. We have accomplished a lot of great things this year and there is much more for us to do. I wish you all the very best in 2021, I wish you good health, happiness and peace. We need each other and I look forward to serving with all of you this coming year.”

HPEDSB serves approximately 14,700 students each day at 42 schools (33 elementary, one K-12; four 7-12, two secondary and two virtual). Supporting student achievement is the goal of approximately 1,900 teaching and support staff who, in addition to the contributions of caring volunteers and community partners, share their passion for teaching and learning. The district covers a wide geographic area of 7,221 square kilometres bordered by Maynooth to the north, Deseronto to the east, Prince Edward County to the south and Quinte West to the west.

For more information please visit the HPEDSB meeting update #186 here www.hpedsb.on.ca/board-meeting-updates/board-meeting-update-186-december-14-2020/

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