The Prince Albert Catholic School Division board has finalized plans to meet with new Minister of Education Jeremy Cockerill in the New Year.
The agenda item of a finalized date was added to the board of education’s regular meeting on Monday. The plan is to meet with Cockerill on Jan. 15, 2024.
While the meeting date has been finalized, Education Director Lorel Trumier said they’re still considering which topics to discuss.
“We’ll be starting to work toward an agenda to advocate for our students and our schools as we meet with him and provide some insights perhaps, that he may not know about Prince Albert Catholic Schools,” Trumier said.
It is not known at this time whether Cockerill will meet with both the Catholic Division and Saskatchewan Rivers School Division.
Trumier said the two divisions could meet the Minister because they have similar concerns in the educational community.
“We know that we share many families back and forth between our two systems and so sometimes we will, in the effort of efficiency, meet with the Minister at the same time,” Trumier said.
Former Minister of Education Dustin Duncan met with both divisions in October of 2022.
Division receives an increase in nutrition funding
The Prince Albert Catholic School Division is receiving a slight increase in Child Nutrition and Development Program grants from the Ministry of Education.
The funding supports nutrition programs running in all of the division schools.
“With the Child Nutrition program it allows us to provide us some nutrition for nutrition for students who need them, and in some schools on a regular basis, and that’s what that program funding allows us to do,” Trumier said.
For the 2023-2024 school year the division will receive $89,350 an increase of $3,580 over the 2022-2023 school year.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
