1. LOOKING INWARD Briefing for Principals Cape Breton – Victoria Regional School Board May 2 nd 2013 Embargoed until noon Friday May 3rd

2. Looking Inward A planning framework for CBVRSB A candid review of board challenges and a call to action Composed of 32 scenarios to guide public consultation and to serve as a reality check Intentionally incomplete Final Chapter to be written after extensive public consultation and engagement activities

3. Challenge: Enrolment There are 43 per cent fewer students in our classrooms today then in 1996 Population in 2012 = 13,977 Population in 1996= 24,567

4. Challenge: Funding About 90 per cent of the Board’s funding is tied to enrolment From 1999-2006, government investments in education helped offset enrolment decline throughout that period Financial resources correspond with enrolment, both are in continuous decline and the outcome is reflected annually in CBVRSB budget amounts Balancing budgets has required staff reductions and lowering operating costs

5. Challenge: Facility Funding The numbers: Property Service Budget (2012-13):$19,201,829.00 Approved Funding: General Grant$14,150,100.00 Small Schools and Specialty$1,510,800.00 Repairs/Renovations$126,200.00 P3 Cost Recovery$2,031,860.00 Total: $17,818,960.00 Funds from other cost centers used to operate facilities: $1,382,869.00

6. Challenge: Facilities Since 1996: Seven new P3 schools Six new schools 10 refurbished projects 54 schools have closed “…the impact of declining enrolment has resulted in many existing school facilities being significantly larger than the school population they serve…”

7. Challenge: Facilities Number of schools with excess student capacity between 40 – 50 per cent 14 Number of schools with excess student capacity exceeding 50 per cent 15

8. Challenge: Direction Significant policy and planning documents: Steps to effective and sustainable Public Education in Nova Scotia (The Levin Report) Kids and Learning First 2012 Strategic plan (CBVRSB) School Capital Construction Submissions Property Services Funding Grade Level Configuration CBVRSB Budget: 2012-13

9. Challenge: Direction School Capital Construction Historically receive $8 – 10 Million annually for new school and additions/alteration projects - to be shared across the school board. Projects must pass Department of Education Project Evaluation Criteria Projects must pass Treasury Board Priorities Evaluation Criteria

10. Challenge: Education Project Evaluation Department of Education ConditionCapacity Ability to deliver PSP Projects from School Review Consolidate Schools/Rec onfigure Grades Curriculum

11. Challenge: Government Priorities Evaluation Treasury Board Rationale Benefits/ Cost Project Risk Alignment with Priorities Overall Suitability

12. Today’s Reality  Education costs continue to escalate  Operating revenue continues to decline  School Board budgets must absorb cost increases  Capital funding is limited

13. What’s at stake?

14. Going Forward Goal #1 : Sustaining the quality and quantity of educational programs and services for students.

15. Going Forward “Planning is a process, not an event.” – Looking Inward

16. The Process There are 32 scenarios across seven families of schools to be discussed: Victoria South Victoria North Northside Riverview Sydney New Waterford Glace Bay

17. Victoria South Scenario 1: As Baddeck Academy is positioned to accommodate all 22 students currently attending Middle River Consolidated School, identify Middle River Consolidated School for inclusion in the School Review Process Scenario 2: Consistent with the ideology to protect rural schools that benefit from financial resources designed to support sustainability, retain Middle River Consolidated School as a rural community school Considerations: see pg. 14

18. Victoria North Scenario 3: To reconfigure Cabot Junior-Senior High School into a P-12 facility to serve all students north of Smokey Scenario 4: To recommend the retention of both Cape Smokey Elementary School and North Highlands Elementary School as primary-to-grade 6 school facilities as the P3 lease renewal process is considered. This scenario implies the retention of Cabot Junior-Senior High School as the secondary school facility to serve secondary students north of Smokey Considerations: see pg. 18

19. Victoria North cont. Scenario 5: Examine the option of retaining one of the P3 schools north of Smokey and reconfigure Cabot Jr. Sr. High School to a P-12 school to house elementary students from the other P3 School (Cape Smokey or North Highlands). Consideration: See pg. 19

20. Northside Scenario 6: Reconfigure Memorial High School from a grade 10 -12 school to a secondary school configuration, housing either grades 9 – 12, or grades 6 – 12. Should 9 – 12 emerge, grades 6 – 8 student from Sydney Mines and North Sydney would be housed in an existing, renovated facility. The adoption of either secondary school model or middle school model would result in the identification of Sydney Mines Jr. High and Thompson Jr. High for inclusion in a future school review process as per existing legislation. Considerations: see pg. 26 Scenario 7: Recommend the establishment of a single junior high school to serve the Northside junior high school students Considerations: see pg. 27

21. Northside cont. Scenario 8: Examine the option of creating a new middle school to serve Grade 6-8 students from North Sydney and Sydney Mines. Identify Thompson Jr. High and Sydney Mines Jr. High for inclusion in a school review process. Considerations: See pg. 28

22. Northside cont. Scenario 9: Examine the option of housing all elementary school children in one of the existing elementary schools serving Sydney Mines Consideration: see pg. 28 Scenario 10: Examine the option of housing all North Sydney elementary students in Ferrisview, and abandon the School Capital Construction Project now before the School Capital Construction Committee for Seton Elementary Consideration: see pg. 29

23. Northside cont. Scenario 11: Examine the establishment of school boundaries associated with the Bras d’Or Elementary School With a view to rerouting Boularderie Island students attending Bras d’Or to Boularderie School; and To examine the feasibility of including Florence Elementary School student at Bras d’Or Elementary Considerations: see pg. 30

24. Northside cont. Scenario 12: Reconfigure Dr. T. L. Sullivan Junior High School to a P – 9 school to include elementary students from Florence and identify Florence Elementary School for inclusion in a school review process. Considerations: See pg. 31

25. Riverview Scenario 13: Examine the impact of enrolment shifts over the next three years relative to the viability of retaining the junior high program at George D. Lewis Scenario 14: To examine if the development of the recommendation with respect to the future of the Riverside Elementary P3 School would impact the future of the George D. Lewis School in Louisbourg Considerations: see pg. 44

26. Riverview cont. Scenario 15: As neighbouring schools – Sydney River, Shipyard or Riverside – are positioned to accommodate any and/or all Marion Bridge students, identify Marion Bridge School for inclusion in a school review process Scenario 16: Consistent with the ideology to protect small rural schools that benefit from financial resources designed to support sustainability, retain Marion Bridge School as a rural school Scenario 17: As enrolment continues to decline at MacLennan, examine the feasibility of combining MacLennan Jr. High School students at Malcolm Munro Jr. High and identify MacLennan for inclusion in a school review process Considerations: see pg. 45

27. Riverview cont. Scenario 18: Examine the option of housing all of the students attending the East Bay School and Mountainview Elementary under one roof at Mountainview Elementary School. Identify East Bay Elementary School for inclusion in a school review process Scenario 19:Examine the establishment of school boundaries associated with the Mira Road School with a view to identifying Mira Road School for inclusion in a school review process, and examine the possibility of disseminating the school population in accordance with the outcome of the boundary review should the decision ultimately be made to include Mira Road in the school review process Considerations: pg. 46

28. Sydney Scenario 20: Examine the feasibility of establishing Sydney Academy as a 9 – 12 school in accordance with the grade level reconfiguration concept for existing grade 10 – 12 schools as enunciated in Kids and Learning First Scenario 21: Examine the feasibility of establishing one junior high school to serve all grade 7 – 9 junior high school students in the former City of Sydney including Whitney Pier Scenario 22: If Sydney Academy was to be reconfigured as a grade 9 -12 school, examine the option establishing either Sherwood Park or Whitney Pier Memorial as the junior high school for Sydney Family of Schools Considerations: see pg. 53

29. Sydney cont. Scenario 23: Examine the option of converting one of the Board-owned elementary schools in Sydney (excludes Harbourside) into a junior high school a) reconfiguring boundaries to accommodate elementary students in three existing schools strategically located geographically. b) consider converting one of the elementary schools into a junior high school. Considerations: see pg. 54

30. New Waterford 2012 Capital Submission Project 1: Carry out a feasibility study to affirm the board’s view that the best option for the Community of New Waterford is replace Breton Education Centre as part of a three-phase Capital School Construction Project ( Now underway ) Project 2: Construct a new P-12 School in multiple phases to accommodate 1,000 - 1,100 students in self- contained instructional spaces (Not approved) Rationale: pg. 59

31. New Waterford cont. Scenario 24: Upon receipt of feedback on Proposal 1 and Proposal 2 from the Department of Education, convene a meeting of educational stakeholders and community members in New Waterford to share the results and to plan a go-forward position. Scenario 25: Revisit the recommendation to return Greenfield to the P3 Partner at conclusion of the first lease, retain the facility for use as a P-5 school, utilizing the existing (renovated Breton Education Centre) to house Grades 6 -8 and 9 -12 in separate sections of the building. Identify St. Agnes and Mount Caramel for inclusion in the school review process. Considerations: see pg. 60

32. New Waterford cont. Scenario 26: Examine the feasibility of constructing a new elementary wing on the Breton Education Site, reconfiguring a portion of the current building to house Breton Middle School (grades 6 – 8) and demolishing excess portions of the current Breton Education Centre Building. This scenario assumes that grade 9 -12 is relocated to either the Greenfield site or some newly constructed and/or renovated site in the New Waterford area. Considerations: see pg. 61

33. Glace Bay Scenario 27: Examine the option of housing the junior high school students from Donkin-Morien at Oceanview Education Centre. Considerations: see pg. 70

34. Glace Bay cont. Scenario 28: As Donkin Elementary Junior High is part of the Donkin-Gowrie Complex and the Donkin School Facility has the space to house all Donkin-Gowrie Elementary School students – examine the option of consolidating the students in one building at Donkin, thereby identifying Gowrie for consideration in a future school review process. Scenario 29: Examine the option of housing the junior high school students from Bridgeport Elementary Junior High at Oceanview Education Centre. Considerations: see pg. 70

35. Glace Bay cont. Scenario 30: Examine the option to reconfigure Glace Bay High School from a grade 10 - 12 school to a grade 9 -12 school with consideration for the impact such a reconfiguration would have on Oceanview Education Centre. Considerations: see pg. 71

36. Glace Bay cont. Scenario 31: Examine the option of housing all elementary students from seaside school communities of New Aberdeen, Bridgeport, and Dominion along with the Community of Reserve in one new elementary school to serve approximately 550 students served by J. B. Croak, MacDonald Elementary, Bridgeport School, and Tompkins Elementary. Scenario 32: Examine the option of creating two new elementary schools in the Glace Bay area to house about 275 students each – replacing Tompkins, MacDonald, Bridgeport and J. B. Croak. Considerations: see pg. 72

37. Community We will be sharing information, communicating more and working together to reach our collective goal – to protect and maintain the programs and services our students need. Methods: Focus groups Electronic Newsletters Social media Periodic surveys Regular update and reporting One-on-one conversations And more…

38. Next Steps Public release of document Information sessions Consultations: Partners and Public Input Compilation Plan to be developed

39. Principals Consultation sessions Focus Groups SAC Students Logistics for consultations at host schools Responding to questions and concerns

40. Questions?