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SD62 budget adapts to COVID impacts, high school grad ceremonies online

Grade 12 grad events online: EMCS Thurs June 25 at 6 pm, Royal Bay Fri June 26 at 6 pm, Belmont Sat June 27 at 4 pm, and Westshore Centre for Learning & Training on Mon June 29 at 6 pm.

Belmont Secondary School, grad 2020, signage
Big Congratulations Grad 2020 sign at Langford Parkway and Langford Lake Road near Belmont Secondary School, in Langford [June 22, 2020 ~ West Shore Voice News]
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Tuesday June 23, 2020 ~ LANGFORD, BC

by Mary Brooke, editor ~ West Shore Voice News

Tonight’s Sooke School District 62 (SD62) board meeting saw approval of the 2020-2021 budget of $149,007,559 which reflects some savings due to reduced in-class instruction and fewer buses on the road, but some revenue loss due to a drop in international student tuition revenues, and more expenses like technology support to families.

Tomorrow SD62 Superintendent Scott Stinson will send a letter to parents about the five stages of dealing with the pandemic in terms of in-class/remote combinations of learning.

Grad celebrations online for families and community to enjoy:

Grad 2020, cap
Grad 2020 is unique due to all the parameters around COVID-19.

Superintendent Stinson announced that Grade 12 grad recognition during this unique COVID-19 year will be livestreamed: EMCS Thursday June 25 at 6 pm, Royal Bay Friday June 26 at 6 pm, Belmont Sat June 27 at 4 pm, and Westshore Centre for Learning & Training on Mon June 29 at 6 pm.

This reflects a major development since earlier in the stresses of COVID adaptation when it seemed there would be just one board-produced video to take care of the celebratory time for grads.

It has been an important shift for everyone – administration, schools, students and teachers to rejig the year’s completion activities.

School board’s out for summer:

The next meeting of the SD62 school board will be held in late August, said SD62 Chair Ravi Parmar at tonight’s online meeting.

Ravi Parmar, Scott Stinson, SD62
SD62 Chair Ravi Parmar and Superintendent Scott Stinson, at the June 23, 2020 board meeting.

Tonight’s online meeting was attended in person by Trustees Bob Beckett and Dianna Seaton. Attending via cyberspace were Trustees Margot Swinburnson and Allison Watson. Trustee Wendy Hobbs sent regrets for tonight’s meeting.

Senior staff in attendance in the room were Superintendent Scott Stinson, Secretary-Treasurer Harold Cull, and Associate Superintendent Paul Block. Attending virtually were Associate Superintendents Stephanie Hedley-Smith and Dave Strange.

Presentations were made by representatives for the Sooke Teachers Association (STA), CUPE 459, SD62 Principals and Vice-Principals, and SPEAC.

=== About the writer:

Mary Brooke, editor and publisher
Mary Brooke, Editor and Publisher, West Shore Voice News [file photo 2018]

Mary Brooke of West Shore Voice News has covered the news of SD62 board meetings since 2014 and committee meetings since those started in 2018. This gives depth to our writing about things like facilities planning, strategic plans, threads of discussion by each of the board members, and a wide range of other topics that are covered year to year.

Media has always been welcome at SD62 school board meetings, until now. For some reason, with the virtual format media questions are not being accepted in the online chat format. West Shore Voice News will report to readers on that in the days to come, as to the shift in SD62 policy on that matter of excluding media during question period.