The chair and vice-chair of the Chinook's Edge Board of Education were re-elected last week during the board's annual organizational meeting.Delburne/Elnora trustee Colleen Butler was re-elected as chair while Sundre trustee Ron Fisher was re-elected as vice-chair during the Oct. 12 meeting in Innisfail.Olds/Reed Ranch trustee Trudy James nominated Butler and after no other nominees were presented following two more calls, Innisfail trustee Penny Archibald moved that nominations cease.Butler's election was met with a round of applause, after which she thanked the board for their vote of confidence.ìI really appreciate the chance to continue this journey we've been on,î she said. ìIt's been very exciting and I've really enjoyed it. I think continuity is important.îFisher, who was nominated by Archibald, was the only candidate for vice-chair.ìYou've got two of the best steering the ship right there,î Archibald said following Fisher's swearing in.Enrolment numbers upOverall enrolment at Chinook's Edge School Division schools is up by about 70 students over the same time last year, CESD superintendent Kurt Sacher said during the board of education meeting on Oct. 12.The increase was due to continued growth in a few communities, most notably Olds and Sylvan Lake, Sacher explained.ìCertainly there are some declines that we're concerned about that we're working with the schools on,î he said during the meeting.Sacher said only $60,000 of a $200,000 contingency fund to deal with ìhot spotsî in September was used, with the remainder deferred for future emergency needs.ìThe bottom line is we're actually up from September to September when we're dealing with a demographic that you would have predicted we ought to be declining,î he said. ìThat's a positive for us as a school division.îWith about 200 more students in CESD than expected, Sacher said the increase in enrolments means an extra $1.2 million in funding.Trustees named to design board for new Penhold schoolPenhold/River Glen/Poplar Ridge trustee Sherry Cooper and Didsbury trustee Gordon Kerr were named to a new committee that will be involved in the design of the new school in Penhold.Committee developed to create trustee handbookChinook's Edge School Division trustees agreed to create an ad hoc committee to revise the CESD trustee handbook.Sundre trustee Ron Fisher, Sylvan Lake trustee Joe-Anne Knispel-Matejka, Innisfail trustee Penny Archibald and Penhold/River Glen/Poplar Ridge trustee Sherry Cooper were appointed to the committee to bring the handbook, which was created by Fisher years ago, up to date.
