Procedure 2400.2 - Liaison Meetings and Trustee In-Service Sessions

1. OVERVIEW

1.1.	On a regular basis, the Surrey Board of Education may hold informal meetings for the purpose of information gathering and sharing and maintaining effective relations with staff, employee groups, educational partners, rightsholders, elected officials and other interested parties.
1.2.	The Office of the Secretary-Treasurer is responsible for arranging the various informal meetings of the Surrey Board of Education. Any queries regarding the meetings may be made via email to sect-office@surreyschools.ca or phone 604-595-6300.
1.3.	Liaison meetings are not formal business meetings of the Board of Education and minutes will not be recorded or published.

2. LIAISON WITH EMPLOYEE GROUPS AND EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS

2.1.

To provide employee groups and educational partners a meaningful opportunity to share and gather information and influence policy and direction in the school district, the Board of Education will maintain regular liaison with:

a)	Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) – Local 728.
b)	Surrey Teachers’ Association (STA).
c)	Surrey Principals and Vice-Principals Association (SPVPA).
d)	Exempt Professional Employees Group (EPEG).
e)	Surrey District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC).
f)	Student Voice.

2.2.

Meetings with employee groups and educational partners will be attended by the Board and the executive committee. Other staff members may be invited to attend as required. CUPE, STA, SPVPA, EPEG, DPAC and Student Voice representatives will be named by the respective association or group.

2.3.

Liaison meetings will be held a minimum of once per year and additional meetings may be held as necessary.

2.4.

In the interest of a healthy and informative dialogue, it is important that both parties are aware of the agenda items to be discussed. This allows for supporting information to be gathered or appropriate personnel to attend as needed. The agenda for liaison meetings with employee groups and educational partners will be prepared as follows:

Each group will provide a list of topics to be addressed to the Secretary- Treasurer at least one week prior to the meeting.

Each agenda item will include a title and a brief rationale of the topic to be discussed and/or the question to be asked of the Board.

The Board chairperson and executive staff will review the agenda items and determine if any of the items would be more appropriately answered by staff directly.

To allow sufficient time for dialogue, the number of topics to be discussed will generally not exceed three items from each party.

The agenda will be published no less than three days prior to the meeting.

The agenda will not include:

i.	Items that should be dealt with by management unless they have been brought to the attention of management with no satisfactory resolution.
ii.	Matters that should be dealt with through the grievance procedures or other procedures established in the collective agreement, labour statute or policy/procedure.

3. LIAISON WITH RIGHTSHOLDERS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS

3.1.	Liaison with rightsholders, and elected officials provide an opportunity for meaningful dialogue regarding policy direction. Liaison meetings allow the groups to meet collectively with trustees and senior leadership.
3.2.	The number of trustees required to attend the liaison meetings with rightsholders, and elected officials will be directed by the Board chairperson. Executive committee, or other staff attendance will be dictated by the agenda topics.
3.3.	Liaison meetings will be held a minimum of once per year and additional meetings may be held as necessary.
3.4.	The meetings will generally have an agenda for discussion developed by the parties in attendance, but it is not mandatory. If an agenda is desired, the Board chairperson, with the support of the Superintendent, and appropriate representatives of the individual group will work collaboratively to develop an agenda that meets the parties’ needs.
3.5.	Staff in attendance will be responsible for the preparation of a summary on the broad topics under discussion and recording of any action agreed upon by consensus by the parties at the meeting. These meetings are considered to be private and for the benefit of the parties in attendance. If circulated, notes from any meeting will be circulated to trustees and staff as per Board Policy #2601 – Board-Staff Communications.
3.6.	The informal reporting out by the parties will be best served through the release of only the general consensus reached at the meetings.

4. FORUMS AND OTHER LIAISON MEETINGS

4.1.	From time to time, the Board may consider it appropriate to meet with several groups to discuss district wide topics of interest or concerns. In such instances, the Board will direct the Superintendent to arrange a forum to provide an opportunity for the Board to meet with a larger number of groups, organizations or affected parties.
4.2.	From time to time, the Board may consider it necessary to liaise with a specific group or interested/affected party that it does not meet with regularly regarding a specific matter or concern. In such instances, the Board chair will direct the Superintendent to arrange to meet that group or interested/affected party.

5. IN-SERVICE SESSIONS

5.1.	In-service sessions allow the Board to receive updates from executive committee and to facilitate informal discussion on various services, programs, and educational and business matters to support the Board’s ongoing work and deepen its understanding of the issues.
5.2.	Under the direction of the Board chair and/or Superintendent, the Secretary- Treasurer will arrange regular in-service sessions for the trustees. Topics for the in-service sessions will be dictated by the work under way, current trends and themes, and emerging issues.

6. REFERENCES AND RELATED DOCUMENTS

6.1.	Policy #2400 School Board Meetings
6.2.	Policy #2601 Board-Staff Communications

7. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY

7.1.	Superintendent of Schools
7.2.	Secretary-Treasurer

8. HISTORY

Approved:

2023-11-08