Board Meeting Highlights — June 2023

The Board of Directors and Executive host board meetings three times a year to review past and upcoming events, provincial reports and any other business related to CCSTA and Catholic education in Canada. This is June’s highlights.

Board of Directors Update

The deadline to submit nominations for the positions of President and Vice President was May 5, 2023. Teresita Chiarella, Manitoba Catholic Schools, was acclaimed as President and Harry Salm, Trustee, Christ the Redeemer Catholic Separate School Division, AB was acclaimed as Vice-President.

CCSTA welcomed Leslie Roque (British Columbia) and Gerald Bernakevitch (Alberta, Yukon, NWT) to the Board.  We said goodbye to long serving Director Colleen Easson (British Columbia) and Past President Paula Scott (Saskatchewan).   We are grateful to our outgoing members for their commitment to the vision and mission of our Association.

With regret, the Board accepted the resignation from Executive Director Julian Hanlon, effective December 31, 2023.

Communications

CCSTA recognizes that effective, integrated and coordinated communication is integral to carrying out
the mission and vision. CCSTA continues to write, create and post content toward this objective. Content
is posted regularly in French and English on our social media platforms and two articles each month are
published on the CCSTA website. CCSTA is continuing its focus on growing its social media audience with
its English (@CCSTAconnect) and French (@ACCEC_CCSTA) twitter accounts as well as its Facebook and
Instagram accounts.

Budget 2024

The board and membership approved a balanced budget of $289,248 which included a 2% membership
fee increase.

Resolutions

The membership passed resolutions related to the support for a universal student nutrition program and
social media platform challenges.

Financial Statements

The board and membership received the 2023 audited financial statements. The association ended the year with a deficit of $13,711, largely due higher costs related to communications.

Charitable Foundation

Many Catholic families across Canada make significant sacrifices to ensure their children receive a quality, faith-based education. The CCSTA Charitable Foundation, through the Toonies for Tuition program, allows us to share the gift of Catholic education by helping children attend a Catholic school where the province provides limited or no public funding.  For the 2023-2024 school year, the Charitable Foundation will distribute $107,000 in tuition assistance, which is enough money to fund 34% of the requests received!

The Endowment Fund Committee reviews and distributes the funds based on the Endowment Fund Guidelines.  Committee members consist of Tom D’Amico, Chair (ON), Gerald Bernakevitch (AB/NWT/Yukon), Marino Gazzola (ON), Delmer Wagner (SK).  Administration:  Julian Hanlon, Michelle Collett.

Trophy Challenge

Each year, the CCSTA awards plaques during the AGM & Convention to the funded board and the funded province which have collected the most in donations per-capita towards the Toonies for Tuition initiative.

President Daly and Executive Julian Hanlon announced and congratulated the winners for 2023-2024:

• School Board/Division – Holy Family Catholic School Division (AB)

The Holy Family Catholic School Division is located the northern Alberta, with nine schools located in the communities of Peace River, McLennan, Grimshaw, Manning, High Prairie and Valleyview.

• Province – Saskatchewan

CCSTA is grateful for the continuing support from school divisions and districts across the country towards this important initiative.   As a result of this incredible support, many children will be blessed with the gift of growing, learning, and living in Christ within a Catholic school environment.

Political Advocacy

The next Lobby Week will be held in February, 2024.  CCSTA encourages all trustees and school board representatives to reach out to their local MPs.

Future AGM Dates

The Board is still exploring options for the 2024 AGM Convention.

If your Province or Division/District is interested in hosting an upcoming AGM & Convention, please contact the CCSTA office.

→ Rooted in Faith: Catholic Education in Action 2023 – AGM & Convention Recap