Special Board Meeting
April 20, 2026 · 05:30 pm
No summary available yet.
Motions
Childcare Feasibility Study Funding
Carried Details
- Proposed allocating up to $75,000 (from operating contingency) for a consultant-led feasibility study on VSB-operated, licensed school-age out-of-school care at multiple school sites.
- Study scope to include a district-wide family and employee survey, site assessment, staffing and labor considerations, equity analysis, enrollment prioritization for VSB staff, and cost/revenue estimates.
- An amendment by Trustee Fraser narrowed the initial scope to a streamlined feasibility study first, with surveys and enrollment prioritization as sequential follow-on steps, and extended the reporting timeline to the full 2026-27 school year; also added language requiring childcare to be high-quality, inclusive, affordable, and cost-neutral.
- An amendment by Trustee Mah added a requirement that any classroom spaces used for childcare include safe and secure storage for teachers' materials.
- A further amendment by the chair sought to require ministry funding before proceeding; this failed.
- An amendment by Trustee Fraser specified operating contingency as the funding source.
- A final amendment by Trustee Mah added a direction that the board ask the Ministry of Education and Child Care to reimburse the feasibility study cost upon completion.
- Debate touched on provincial downloading of childcare responsibilities, urgency of family need, recruitment and retention implications, and the risk of spending K-12 education funds on a non-mandated service.
Learning Technology and Information Systems Plan
Carried Details
- Directs the superintendent to develop a Learning Technology and Information Systems Plan for trustees' consideration as part of the 2027-28 financial planning process.
- Intended to address digital safety, data security, AI use, student and staff technology access, and system effectiveness across K-12 and adult education.
- No direct budget expenditure; represents a staff time commitment, with work expected to flow through the committee system.
Additional Supervision Aid Hours
Carried Details
- Adds up to 300 voluntary hours of supervision aid staffing for 2026-27, continuing a model piloted from spring break to June in the prior year.
- Allows schools to deploy supervision aides for coverage during IEP meetings and end-of-year planning, freeing classroom teachers.
- Cost confirmed at $9,182; funded from operating contingency after a corrective amendment added the funding source.
Reinstate SSB Staffing 3.0 FTE
Defeated Details
- Sought to reinstate 3.0 FTE student support worker B (SSB) positions proposed for elimination in the draft budget, affecting Britannia and David Thompson secondary schools.
- SSBs work specifically with at-risk youth on social-emotional learning, mental health, behavior, and learning difficulties; trustees noted SSBs are not interchangeable with SSAs, who rarely work in secondary schools.
- Student surveys and a City of Vancouver youth survey both identified declining mental health and a need for more in-school mental health supports.
- Opposition noted the draft budget offsets the SSB reduction with additional SSA positions allocated based on enrollment need.
- Proposed funding source was operating contingency.
Teachers on Call for Resource Teachers
Defeated Details
- Sought to fund teachers on call (TTOCs) to replace absent resource teachers from their first day of absence, rather than the current practice of replacing on the third day.
- Cost identified at approximately $2.7 million, to come from reductions in divisional superintendent office budgets and other non-instructional areas.
- Supporters argued that gaps in resource teacher coverage disproportionately harm students with diverse learning needs and can eliminate a full week of support when combined with statutory holidays.
- Staff noted TTOCs would need time to familiarize themselves with individual education plans, limiting the effectiveness of short-term replacements.
- Opposition cited the high cost and the specialized, student-specific nature of resource teacher work.
Reinstate Visually Impaired and Hospital Homebound Teachers
Defeated Details
- Sought to reinstate 1.0 FTE teacher of the visually impaired and 1.0 FTE hospital homebound teacher, both proposed for reduction in the draft budget; cost of $280,778 from operating contingency.
- Supporters raised concerns about losing a rare specialist position that took a year to fill, and about leaving only one teacher to cover all hospital homebound students district-wide.
- Staff noted enrollment in both programs has declined and stabilized; current caseloads of approximately 14 students each are manageable with the reduced complement, and provincial resource programs provide additional hospital support.
- The chair noted that fiscal responsibility requires aligning staffing to current enrollment rather than retaining unfilled-need positions.
Reinstate District Teacher Librarian
Defeated Details
- Sought to reinstate the sole district-level teacher librarian position (1.0 FTE) proposed for elimination, at a cost of $140,389 from operating contingency.
- The district teacher librarian provides professional development, collection support, and coordination across all school-based teacher librarians and library technicians.
- Staff described a shift to a coordinated team-based instructional model; curriculum and assessment teachers, the Learning and Instruction Department, and two librarian technicians would absorb the coordination work.
- Supporters argued the position has district-wide indirect impact on library equity, resource consistency, and support for new teachers; its specialized skills are difficult to replicate across a team.
City of Vancouver Food Grant Allocation
Carried Details
- Directs staff to immediately amend the 2026-27 budget to reflect the full City of Vancouver food grant (up to $325,000) as soon as the city confirms the funding, rather than waiting for the formal amended budget process in February.
- The current draft budget includes only $162,000, representing the second half of a grant already confirmed for the prior year; no new grant has yet been confirmed.
- Passing the motion allows food program spending to begin as soon as grant funds arrive, getting food to students faster.
- Trustees also expressed support for ongoing advocacy toward a universal school food program.
Redirect Inclusive Education Funding to Classrooms
Defeated Details
- Sought to redirect any inclusive education funding being used for principal and vice principal salaries to direct classroom support, and to require that any future increases in inclusive education funding from the ministry go directly to classroom support.
- Context: a prior budget breakdown showed over $2.5 million in inclusive education funds allocated to principal and vice principal salaries.
- Staff clarified that elementary vice principals often hold teaching qualifications and use a portion of their time to provide resource support to students with diverse needs; this arrangement is currently funded through inclusive education dollars.
- A key consequence identified: redirecting these funds would cause the district to lose approximately $2.2 million in provincial classroom enhancement fund dollars, because the district would no longer meet the conditions for that grant.
- Supporters argued for a principled approach ensuring all inclusive education dollars reach the classroom rather than
Agenda documents (1)
Vote matrix
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria Jung🥜 | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N |
| Suzie Mah🥜 | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Christopher JK Richardson🥜 | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N |
| Alfred Chien🥜 | Y | N | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N |
| Preeti Faridkot🥜 | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | A | N |
| Lois Chan-Pedley🥜 | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N |
| Janet Fraser🥜 | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N |
| Jennifer Reddy🥜 | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Josh Zhang🥜 |