Additional Supervision Aid Hours
Motion 4 · Special Board Meeting, April 20, 2026
Summary
- 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.
Vote
Public comments
Read all 2 statements
Transcript
18 segments
Thank you. I would move that the board amend the 2026-2027 draft financial plan and budget to add up to 300 additional hours of supervision aid staffing for the 2026-2027 school year.
Is there a seconder? Trustee Reddy? Trustee Ma, please introduce your rationale.
Yeah, so... Last year, the board offered to increase supervision aides on a voluntary basis who wanted to take on extra hours, up to one and a half hours. And that happened from spring break, I think, until the end of June. And what it allowed to happen was that schools who were using, having IEP meetings, end of the year meetings, planning for the following school year, would be able to release classroom teachers and have supervision aides go into our schools to provide relief time. And again, that was on a voluntary basis. So that's why my motion says up to 300. It may not be 300, but I think that this is a small amount to pay. I also understand that there was a costing that was given to trustees today. Secretary, Treasurer, can I just... ask you to confirm the cost?
So based on the motion, which states that we would add up to 300 additional hours of supervision aid, which equates to roughly 1.09 FTE supervision aid for the entire year for the district, the cost is $9,182. Okay.
Are there, sorry, did you, are you finished? Okay. Going to any, okay, we'll go to Trustee Reddy and then Trustee Freedcoat.
Thanks, Trustee Ma, for bringing this motion. I think it responds to the letter and kind of presentation we received from IUOU who has indicated the success of this work to date. And so it seems to align with what has been already successful. in their view in terms of adding supervision aid staffing. And we know how important those positions are for student safety. So I do support this amendment and thank the Secretary-Chancellor for the additional numbers on the cost. Thank you.
Trustee Freedcoat and then Trustee Champedly. Thank you. So the $9,000 cost is for a year, right?
Sorry, are you asking the mover or are you asking the Secretary Treasurer? I am asking Secretary Treasurer.
300 hours of supervision aid staffing for the year, the cost is $9,182. I would just like to clarify that in the current year, the amount allocated was significantly higher. We allocated... an additional 1.5 hours per day for up to 200 supervision aides.
Thank you. Do you have a follow-up Trustee Friedko? Okay. I'll go to Trustee Chen-Pedley.
Thank you. My understanding, the additional 200 times 1.5, that was a number that's set by the expectation that those hours would be taken up on a voluntary basis. Is there expectation that 300 additional hours would be taken up by staffing? Because historically, based on the numbers from the previous year, we've already added those hours. So like adding more hours, what does that help with?
Is that a question for the mover?
Or is that just...
Question to the mover. My understanding was that the additional hours was from spring break till the end of June and it was one time. It ended at the end of June. Thank you.
Okay, seeing no...
Yes, Trustee Fraser. A question to the mover. Is this intended? I see that the, it says for the 26, 27 school year. So I'm assuming that is also a one-time cost. Yes. Okay.
Are there any other questions or comments before we move to the next item, which is the vote? Okay. Seeing none, we'll go to a vote. All those in favor of what you see on the screen?
Trustee Ma, Trustee Richardson, Trustee Reddy, Trustee Freedcoat, Trustee Chen-Pedley, Trustee Fraser. Those opposed? Okay, Trustee Chen and Trustee Young.
I'd like to move a motion that we, direct staff to find out where to take this money from because it was not in the motion and it contradicts our policy, which is why I voted against and why we're required to have a balanced budget. So I'm going to put it back on the table and I apologize because I should have caught that, but all of the motions we bring tonight because The amended budget is balanced. So all of the motions brought by trustees are required to say where the money is coming from. And as we heard earlier, we have very limited contingency funds. So we're gonna have to make a motion. Thank you, secretary, treasurer. And I will ask that you help in creating that motion to address where it's from.
Trustee Richardson.
Seconder to that motion.
Thank you, Trustee Richardson. As soon as our secretary treasurer gets it up on the board, we will speak to it.
Trustee Richardson, would you mind turning your microphone off, please? And I'm going to ask the trustees around the board table, actually, if you do have a motion coming up in the package that you make note of it in your rationale or in the body of the motion that we know where it's coming from so we can discuss when it comes up.
Okay, I move that the Board approve the allocation of $9,200 from operating contingency to fund the additional 300 hours of supervision aid staffing. It was seconded by Trustee Richardson. Thank you. Any comments or discussion before we go to a vote? Okay, all those in favor? Okay, Trustee Ma, Richardson, Reddy, Friedko, Chen, Pedley, Fraser and Young. Those opposed? Trustee Chen. Thank you for that housekeeping error on my part. I appreciate... your help on getting through to that, getting through that. So we'll now move to our next motion on the agenda. Item 2.2.4, and I will ask Trustee Ma to read the motion.
Statement Watch
Thank you very much, Chair. And I'm going to pass it over to Patricia McNeil, Director, to give you an update on the engagement. Thank you. Thank you. The engagement summary report included in this evening's package and posted to our website outlines input we received to assist in the board's consideration of the 2026-2027 financial plan. Engagement activities were grounded in our education plan, the framework for enhancing student learning, and follow best practice standards by the International Association of Public Participation, or IAB2. Input was sought from inherent rights holders, stakeholder groups, students, families, staff, and the broader public through a mix of methods and activities. The engagement period was open from January 12th to April 16th and included multiple opportunities such as meetings, workshops, and discussions with inherent rights holders and former stakeholder groups, as well as written submissions to the board, an online survey, which was available publicly and to staff, as well as students, and last week's Committee of the Whole meeting and public delegation meeting. Trustees received a copy of all written submissions on a weekly basis, as well as a copy of survey responses in early March. An interim summary report was available that first week of March as well. The report in your package this evening is an update to that interim report to include information about input and feedback received since early March. Across engagement activities, participants highlighted priorities related to classroom staffing and supports, a focus on student learning and course offerings, as well as schedules, learning resources, student wellbeing and mental health, inclusion and equity, facilities and school or learning environments, as well as supports to student families. It's important to note that priorities raised through this year's engagement reflect patterns that we've heard through previous year's financial planning, and I would be pleased to take any questions trustees may have.
Statement Watch
ELLIE WILSON- Thanks for the question through the chair. Our resource teachers in schools provide a variety of services. I think sort of to your question, they're responding to every student's individual education plan, and those vary across the needs of all students. So there would be small group work, there's push-in support that happen in classrooms, and it's all directed by a student's individual education plan. So those folks coming into our schools would need to familiarize themselves with those individual education plans and get up to speed about how to implement that. Certainly our school-based resource teachers could leave weekly, I would say, detailed plans about how they're working with students, but those would be constantly evolving plans. And I think... A lot of our folks who are sick for a day or two don't necessarily have those very detailed, detailed plans that would provide guidance to somebody. Certainly someone who's gonna be away could prepare that to support the work.
Do you have a follow-up? Go ahead.
Thank you. So if a teacher is absent, a resource teacher is absent and there is a TTOC in place for that, they won't have the full information of those particular cases for those students. Is that correct?
Through the chair, that is correct. They would have to take a bit of time to learn how to do that.