The Central Okanagan Board of Education wants fiscal clarification on the custodial costs for the seven childcare facilities opened in the school district over the last two years.
The trustees are asking the Ministry of Education and Childcare to commit funding to cover the operating costs of the facilities.
Those operating costs, beyond just custodial services, cost about $1 million a year and are currently absorbed by existing school district staffing and operating budget.
The trustees want that cost removed from approved K-12 funding, an issue that was initially raised by the CUPE Local 3523, which represents school district operational staff, as the childcare facilities began to come on stream.
Other school districts with new childcare facilities face the same issue, leading to Board of Education chair Julia Fraser introducing a resolution to bring the issue to the annual general meeting of the BC School Trustees Association to add a stronger advocacy voice to the ministry.
Fraser91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s motion was adopted unanimously.
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The board of education welcomed a new addition to the administrative staff 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ“ Graeme McCallum who is the new health and safety manager 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ“ prevention.
McCallum previously worked for the Kelowna Family Y, and his wife is a vice-principal at Rutland Senior Secondary.
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Congratulations were extended to two senior girls' teams for their accomplishments on the volleyball court.
The École Okanagan Mission Secondary senior girls squad, led by coaches Rob Steciuk and Paul Thiessen, won the AAAA provincial championship.
The team overcome a 2-0 set deficit in the championship final and was down 14-9 in the fifth set but found a way to overcome those setbacks to win the B.C. title.
Speaking to the trustees, players came forward to speak about the virtues of playing sports and for a team, and the dedication of their coaches and parents to support them on their journey, from which the memories and life lessons they experienced will resonate with the players for the rest of their lives.
Also applauded were the École Kelowna Senior Secondary senior girls B team, which won the B.C. Invitational Tier 2 senior girls championship.
That team was coached by Sylvain Guignard and Jaci Guignard.
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The trustees adopted several special day and week recognitions for the school district:
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ Family Literacy Week was Jan. 26 to Feb. 2
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ February will be both Human Rights Month and Inclusive Education Month
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ Jan. 15 was also recognized as Black Excellence Day.
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Parents are reminded that the initial enrolment application timeline for the 2025-26 school year began Feb. 3, 7 a.m., and will continue until March 7.
The closing date for enrolment applications is Aug. 28.
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Central Okanagan Public Schools is now accepting applications for students to get a seat on a school bus for the 2025-26 school year.
Applications received for eligible students from now until May 31 will be processed in the order the applications are received and will take until the end of June to complete.
Applications for courtesy riders received before June 1 will be processed in June and July.
Applications received after May 31 will not be processed until August or later and those students will be placed on a waitlist.
Payment in full or monthly payments must be set up within 30 days of your child being assigned to a school bus route.
Application forms are available at the Central Okanagan Public Schools website.
