October 21, 2020

PSBAA’s AGM: More than just a business meeting!

Last Thursday was an inspiring, informative and productive day for the Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta (PSBAA) – it was the day we held our Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Our day began with Deborah Lloyd, an Elder with a long history with the Medicine Hat Public School Division and the Alberta Teachers’ Association, who brought a blessing for our deliberations.

Diana Bacon, a Professional Registered Parliamentarian, provided oversight for the business portion of our meeting.

Our AGM looked different this year due to the pandemic – we met virtually, rather than in-person – but we covered a lot of ground in a short few hours.

One of the business items that was approved was our 2021 budget.

Approval of our budget is really important. As a member-driven Association of public school board trustees, we carefully lay out a plan for the coming year to educate and advocate on behalf of public school boards and our trustees. We base the plan on what our members tell us they need and want from their Association.

But the plan is just that – a plan. It still requires the full debate and approval of the membership, to ensure we all agree on our most important priorities as an Association, before we move ahead. That debate and transparency is an important part of our democratic process, and every one of our member school boards has a voice.

As part of our AGM, we also proposed amendments to some of our Association’s bylaws. While most of these amendments were considered routine housekeeping items, there is one important change to note to Bylaw 5.1.

This amendment, which was approved by our membership, changes the provisions for membership in PSBAA. We are now allowing Indigenous Education Authorities to join the Association if they agree with the values of public education, certify their teachers through the Alberta Teachers’ Association and teach the Alberta curriculum. Of particular note, we will also ensure these authorities are committed to inclusion. This is a very exciting development for our Association.

At our AGM, we also re-elected two members of our Executive Committee and elected four new members on our standing committees. We are also very pleased to welcome Nathan Ip, Trustee with Edmonton Public Schools (EPSB), as the EPSB’s appointed representative to PSBAA’s Executive Committee. We are looking forward to working with him. We are also pleased that Karen Becker, Second Vice President, and Nicole Buchanan, Second Director, were re-elected.

We were also glad to hear from Hon. Adriana LaGrange, the Minister of Education, who brought greetings on behalf of the government. While we were unable to ask her all the questions submitted by our members, we will be sending them to the Minister for a follow-up response.

AGM day wasn’t all work, though. Even though we met virtually, we took full advantage of the technology to give delegates an opportunity to network and socialize in virtual breakout rooms during the lunch break.

We also had a wonderful time celebrating our four 2020 PSBAA Special Recognition Award recipients. You can click on each of the links in the award names, below, to see videos of the well-deserved award presentations.

The Advancing Association Business & Initiatives award was presented to Elizabeth (Liz) Kohle, a locally-elected school board trustee with Sturgeon Public Schools. The Mustard Seed in Red Deer was this year’s recipient of the Special Contribution to Public Education Award for its school lunch program. The Special Contribution to Public Education – Media Award was presented to Robynne Henry, a reporter with the Bonnyville News / Nouvelle newspaper. And this year’s recipient of the Dick Baker Legacy Award is Shirley Caputo, a trustee with Grande Yellowhead Public School Division who has served her community for six terms. The Dick Baker Legacy Award is presented to a public school board trustee who, over the course of their career, has modelled integrity, compassion, mentoring, leadership and putting children first.

All in all, it was a great day, and we are looking forward to our work ahead together over the next nine months!

Cathy Hogg, President
Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta