Chair Message - March 23, 2020
Posted on 03/23/2020
As you are all aware, our schools and communities – indeed the entire world – are facing unprecedented times amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Premier Doug Ford announced today, March 23, that schools will not reopen April 6 as scheduled. School boards are awaiting more information and will update our school communities as soon as we can.
Our board staff are working diligently, and in real time, to deal with this situation to ensure we are best supporting students, families and staff. Our staff is working closely with our partners in public health, the municipality, social service agencies and Ministry of Education and other education partners to develop a plan. There are many questions and they are doing their best to find the answers as quickly as they can.
To allow staff to focus on this important work, the Limestone District School Board of Trustees has suspended our meetings for the time being. Although the Ministry of Education has adjusted its regulations to allow for virtual board meetings, we are not pursuing this option at this time. Right now, as I am sure you can appreciate, many central office staff are focused on how to continue operations during this two-week closure and beyond – and doing so remotely which poses unique challenges. All items from the March 25 Board Meeting and the April 15 Education, Policy & Operations Committee Meeting can be moved to future agendas. Our governance work can wait, for now. Preparing our staff and schools for a return to operations, cannot.
The board has been providing regular updates via the website and social media feeds, as well as direct communication from the Director of Education. A new message from the Director will come later this week as additional planning meetings are held.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank our staff for their dedication and commitment to our students and families. I have never been more proud to be a member of the Limestone District School Board. I also want to thank those working in health care and other essential services for their ongoing and selfless efforts to take care of our most vulnerable citizens, especially our students.
Please stay safe and well.
Suzanne Ruttan
Chair, Limestone District School Board of Trustees