Distant & Rural Schools Report
Date: October 31, 2005| TO: | Chair and Members of the Superior-Greenstone District School Board |
| FROM: | Bruce Rousseau, Superintendent of Business |
| SUBJECT: | Distant Schools & Rural Schools Report for Parents and Taxpayers |
Background
As part of the 2005-2006 school board funding the Ministry of Education requires the Board to report on how the funding for distant school and rural schools will be used to improve supports for students in these schools.
The purpose of the Distant & Rural Schools funding is to help school boards ensure quality education and student success in remote, rural and northern schools. It gives school boards a wide, flexible range of options for allocating resources and making decisions about small distant schools.
These funds are to be applied to additional teachers, increased adult presence in eligible schools (principals, vice-principals and secretaries), more learning resources and more resources to meet the operational costs of distant schools and rural schools.
Any unused funds must be placed in a reserve to be spent on distant schools and rural schools in the future.
Details of the Rural Education Strategy
All fifteen schools of Superior-Greentone District School Board meet the requirements of a distant school. The Distant Schools & Rural School Allocation for 2005-2006 for the board is $5,142,938. The funds were used to put in place the following supports for our distant schools:
- Elementary Classroom Teachers above Ministry basic allocation 22.33 full time equivalents
- Secondary Classroom Teachers above Ministry basic allocation 23.00 full time equipvalents
- Full time Principal and/or Vice Principal in each of our 15 schools
- Full Time Secretary in each school
- Teachers of Literacy and At Risk Students 9.67 full time equivalents
- Coordinator of Plant Services
- Computer Network upgrades totaling $170,000.
The additional staff and expenditures in the various areas listed above have strengthened the educational opportunities available to our students in our distant schools.
Respectfully submitted,
Bruce Rousseau
Superintendent of Business
