1. education
2. school

COUNCIL MINUTES
Edmonton Public Teachers Local No. 37 of the Alberta Teachers’ Association
Telephone 780-455-2164 FAX 780-453-1407 E-Mail [email protected] Website local37.teachers.ab.ca
Minutes of a meeting of the Council of Edmonton Public Teachers Local No. 37 of the
Alberta Teachers’ Association, held in the Auditorium of Barnett House on Wednesday, May 28,
2014, commencing at 5:30 pm.
Vice-president Anthony Walsh was in the Chair. Approximately 147 School Representatives
were in attendance.
3. AWARD PRESENTATIONS
The Chair called on President Olsen to
present the Honorary Award to Ed Butler.
Mr. Butler was given a $50 gift certificate to
Red Lobster. President Olsen then
presented the Honorary Life Membership
Award to Dr. Julius Buski. Dr. Buski was
given an inuksuk and a $100 donation to the
Rotary International District 5370 of
Edmonton (Mayfield) in his name.
The Chair introduced Board
Representatives Mark Liguori and Kent
Pharis; District Representatives Quintin
Yardley, Christine Harris and Markiana
Cyncar-Hryschuk; and ATA Representative
Robert Twerdoclib; as well as parents and
art students.
1. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Jen Gale (Mary Butterworth/Executive) and
Jennifer Sutherland (Lillian
Osborne/Executive).moved,
RESOLVED, that the Council Agenda be
approved as amended.
CARRIED
4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
Connie Hansen (Rio Terrace) and Jennifer
Sutherland (Lillian Osborne/Executive)
moved,
RESOLVED, that the Council Minutes of
April 30, 2014, be approved as printed.
CARRIED
2. STUDENT ART PRESENTATION
The Chair called on President Olsen to
introduce the student, the art teacher and
the artwork.
1. Kendall Li of Lendrum School and “The 7
Bright Pumpkins”
2. Natalie Dragatis of Virginia Park School
and “Snowflakes”
3. Zachary Gorniak of Sifton School and
“Frida Kahlo Portrait”
4. Fajr Haq of Grandview Heights and
“Untitled”
5. Caitlyn Wagner of Lillian Osborne School
and “Untitled”
6. Doris Rottmar of Ross Sheppard School
and “Untitled”
5. DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE REPORT
District Representative, Christine Harris,
drew attention to the report that was
included in the agenda package,
highlighting:
 The recently held ARA and the Provincial
Executive Council resolutions unanimously
passed,
 The Task Force for Teaching Excellence,
 The Members’ Handbook and the
information it contains,
 The study on teacher workload – the
Malatest and Association pilot survey, and
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 The Canadian Teachers’ Federation study
on teachers finding difficulty meeting needs
of all students in classrooms.
In terms of Professional Conduct, teachers
practice what is practiced in society, it’s
called natural justice. We follow the
“innocent until proven guilty” concept.
Teachers are disciplined for crossing the
line, rather than to the degree that they
crossed the line. We can best inform our
members by educating our members.
6. QUESTION PERIOD
The Chair welcomed the Board
representatives, and opened the floor to
questions.
Catherine LeBlanc (Local Executive Staff)
asked Mr. Twerdoclib to talk about how a
person who is suspended can get their
membership back.
Jonathan Hemphill (Grace Martin/
Executive) what message can be taken
back to colleagues to educate them about,
and give them confidence in our conduct
and practice review processes?
Mr. Twerdoclib stated that a suspended
member must reapply for membership.
Once a teacher’s professional certificate is
removed, it is reported to the registrar here
in Alberta and an alert goes out to all
registrars across Canada, Austrailia and the
UK to make sure that teacher isn’t certified
elsewhere.
Robert Twerdoclib (Alberta Teachers’
Association Vice-president) answered that
the question alludes to two very specific and
very different constructs, but the Task Force
melded them together.
We need to educate our members on
Professional Conduct and Professional
Practice as two separate and unique areas
of responsibility that are given to use by the
province of Alberta in legislation.
Catherine LeBlanc received the following
question via email: “Is there a policy for
inclement weather other than cold weather
policy?”
Kent Pharis (Board Representative) said
that there is no other policy other than the
“cold weather policy” and that any other
inclement weather concerns should be
discussed with the principal.
The Association has only had involvement
in practice review for the past five years [not
three years as Mr. Twerdoclib stated]
because the legislation was changed, giving
it to us. Practice review is in the hands of
the Superintendent of Schools, and only
comes to the ATA through a
Superintendent. So when you hear the
Education Minister muse about no reviews
being done by the Association, it is because
no Superintendent has brought any forward.
Samantha Orosz (Callingwood) asked
about teachers receiving gifts for five and
ten years of service, and whether this is a
new practice?
Kent Pharis responded that recognizing
teachers for their years of service is not a
new practice, but allowing members to
choose their gift is a new practice. If
teachers have not been recognized for their
years of service they should contact human
resources at Edmonton Public School
Board.
One case (not mentioned by Mr.
Twerdoclib) was filed with the Executive
Secretary but was later withdrawn when the
School Board was advised that they were
not in compliance with Provincial Policy
2.1.5 on Teacher Growth, Supervision and
Evaluation.
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The Chair noted that Question Period had
reached its 15 minute limit.
4. Will 10-month consultants be part of the
three District professional development
days and/or the two school professional
development days?
Carmen Pon (Kirkness) and Laina Balser
(Michael Strembitsky) moved,
RESOLVED, that Question Period be
extended to hear the remaining three
speakers.
CARRIED
5. Will 12-month consultants be part of the
three District professional development
days and/or the two school professional
development days?
Ryan Bolichowski (Londonderry) asked
why Londonderry School has been short of
supply services on numerous occasions.
Mr. Liguori and Mr. Pharis stated that they
would have to bring the answers to these
questions back to Council at a later date.
Mr. Pharis also requested that the questions
be forwarded to him (via email) for followup. As well, a District Q & A is being
prepared and these questions could be
included.
Kent Pharis responded that supply services
want to have enough supply staff on staff so
that we may cover every absence. We also
want to ensure that we have enough work
for those supply teachers. Supply Services
staff regularly go through their listing and
remove supply teachers who do not
respond to calls and they replace them. It
may be that there was a lot going on in the
District at that particular time, but Supply
Services looks at the number of unfilled jobs
each month and makes adjustments
accordingly.
7. LOCAL FINANCE
a) Finance and Variance Report to April
30, 2014.
The Chair reviewed the Finance and
Variance Report printed on pages 9–12 of
the agenda package.
Anthony Walsh (Human Resources/
Executive) had five questions for the Board
Representatives: During the 2014/15
school year, there are several professional
development days scheduled:
Adam Browne (D.S. MacKenzie) and Derek
Lindskoog (Highlands/Executive) moved,
RESOLVED, that the Finance and
Variance Report to April 30, 2014, be
approved.
CARRIED
1. Will these days be considered a break in
service for substitute teachers who are
accumulating 20 consecutive days of
substitute teaching to qualify for a
temporary contact and the benefits that
come with it?
b) Proposed Local Budget 2014/15
The President reviewed the Proposed Local
Budget 2014/15 printed on pages 13–17 of
the agenda package.
2. Will Teachers Convention be considered
a break in service?
Jen Gale (Mary Butterworth/Executive) and
Allen Linville (W.P. Wagner) moved,
RESOLVED, that the Proposed Local
Budget 2014/15 be approved.
3. Will 10-month consultants follow the pilot
calendar with regards to start and finish
dates?
The President reported that the Finance
Committee was in favour of recommending
approval of the budget with any overage/
deficit being taken from the surplus.
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8. COMMITTEE BUSINESS AND
REPORTS
a) Committee Guideline Changes
President Olsen reviewed the proposed
changes to Local Guidelines.
Amendment
Anthony Walsh (Human Resources/
Executive) and Ed Butler (Kirkness/
Executive) moved,
RESOLVED, that the Proposed Local
Budget 2014/15 be amended to include
that site designated representatives of
CSR, up to the maximum allowed by
each site, shall be paid $25 per meeting
attended in the 2014/15 school year to
acknowledge the valuable contribution
that CSR representatives provide to their
colleagues. The cost will be funded
through the surplus. A decision on
whether or not to make this a continuing
budget item will be decided by the May
2015 CSR.
Brian Game (Jasper Place) and Deanna
Simmons (Dan Knott) moved,
RESOLVED, that the proposed changes
to the Local Guidelines be approved.
CARRIED
b) Committee Year-End Reports
The committee year-end reports were
printed on pages 25-46 of the agenda
package.
Ed Butler (Kirkness/Executive) and Adam
Browne (D.S. MacKenzie) moved,
RESOLVED, that the year-end committee
reports be received for information.
CARRIED
Rationale:
It is my belief that we should be
compensating people who come and spend
their time. We do this already. We do this
for every committee in this Local. We do
this for every ad hoc. We do this for
everyone except CSR. Our Local provides
an honorarium for all other standing
committee members to recognize their time,
subsidize their costs to attend meetings or
host committee events. The Council of
School Representatives incur costs to
attend CSR. They are required to complete
various functions in representing their
colleagues from the decision unit through
discussion, questions and voting at Council.
They also gather input and concerns from
their colleagues at CSR, while also
disseminating information from CSR to their
colleagues at the decision units. The
estimated cost of this motion would be
$26,250 based on the average attendance
of 150 CSR members at seven meetings
per year.
c) Standing Committees
The President reviewed the Returning
Officers Report and noted that all Local
committee were in need of volunteers. He
then called for volunteers.
Donations (2 required): Angela Fowlow (L.Y
Cairns) and Carrie Knight (Beacon Heights)
volunteered.
Finance (2 required): No volunteers came
forward.
Political Engagement (1 required): Deanna
Simmons (Dan Knot) volunteered.
Service-to-Members (5 required): Brenda
Cleland (Patricia Heights), Susan Sanders
(L.Y. Cairns), and Kathy Guay (McKernan)
volunteered.
The amendment was put and—CARRIED.
Communications (3 required): Heather
Quinn (M.E. LaZerte) and Malina Bird (S.
Bruce Smith) volunteered.
The motion as amended was then put
and—CARRIED.
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b) President’s Report
President Olsen reported on the:
 Trustee/Executive dinner,
 59 Local members attended ARA,
 The calendar pilot project,
 PD fund guidelines for the Staff
Development Fund should be available
before the end of June,
 The retiring teachers banquet on June 6,
and
 Teachers receive a raise in September in
the amount of .06% to meet the provincial
average.
Educational Issues (2 required): Deanna
Simmons (Dan Knott) volunteered.
Professional Development (5 required): no
volunteers came forward.
Social (3 required): Samantha Orosz
(Callingwood) and Barbie Kuz (Rosslyn)
volunteered.
Allan Linville (W.P. Wagner) and Aaron
Kucher (Ross Sheppard) moved,
RESOLVED, that the above named
volunteers be appointed to the
aforementioned committees.
CARRIED
Service to Members chair, Lyle Watling,
reminded council reps about the joint project
with EPSB to host a table at the post parade
on Pride Day, as well as the upcoming
volunteer date at the Hope Mission. The
committee is still working on securing a date
to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. Mr.
Watling also encouraged members to help
support the orphanages in India by
purchasing Salisbury Greenhouse gift
cards. They would be a great gift for
Father’s Day!
Paul Flowers (Michael Strembitsky) and
Adam Browne (D.S. MacKenzie) moved,
RESOLVED, that Council of School
Representatives direct Table Officers to
seek and appoint members to standing
committees to fill the complement.
CARRIED
9. REPORTS FROM EXECUTIVE
a) Report on Actions
The President reviewed the Report on
Actions that was printed on page 47 of the
agenda package.
Professional Development chair, Derek
Lindskoog, asked all committee members to
stand and be recognized by council.
President Olsen thanked all CSR reps for
their work throughout the year.
Deanna Simmons (Dan Knott) and Angela
Fowlow (L.Y. Cairns) moved,
RESOLVED, that the Report on Actions
be approved.
CARRIED
10. NOTICES OF MOTION AND FUTURE
AGENDA ITEMS
The President discussed the Substitute
Teachers’ Committee Chair vacancy and
the processes that can be used to fill the
vacancy.
None were forthcoming.
11. WILDROSE PARTY PRESENTATION
Joel Nydam (Winterburn) and Adam Browne
(D.S. MacKenzie) moved,
RESOLVED, that Council of School
Representatives direct the Local
Executive to appoint a replacement chair
for the Substitute Teachers’ Committee,
from the 2014/15 sub list, to complete the
balance of the term of office.
CARRIED
The Chair called on Jonathan Hemphill,
Vice-president of Political Engagement, to
introduced Wildrose Party leader, Danielle
Smith. Ms. Smith gave a brief presentation
on her party’s response to the questions
posed by the Political Engagement
Committee. A Q & A followed the
presentation.
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12. OTHER BUSINESS
President Olsen asked Council members to
take these top three items back to their
school staffs:
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm.
1. Please consider participating in the ThirdParty Study on Teacher Workload
(Malatest)
2. Check the Local website for up-to-date
information
3. Thank you to all reps and have a great
summer, see you in September!
President
Bonnie Beaumier (Stratford) won the draw
for a substitute for a PD-day.
Executive Assistant
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