BCSSA Remembers

President's Report

AGM 2008 — A Meeting with a Difference

Each November members from across the province gather in Victoria to attend our annual fall conference — our flagship event that provides us with the opportunity to hear some of the world’s great thinkers. This year we are very proud to include one of our own, Richmond Superintendent Bruce Beairsto, in that distinguished list.

While I have no doubt that the conference will engage and motivate your district teams, I want to draw special attention this year to our Annual General Meeting, always held in that brief period between the Thursday afternoon conference presentation and the President’s Reception. I hope that every BCSSA member will be able to attend this meeting, which this year has a special significance. In addition to the traditional executive member reports and the election of your new executive for the next year, I will be providing an overview of the work completed recently by your executive related to the association’s goal of enhancing our “influence profile” — to be the leading voice on education in this province, and to strengthen our ability to influence government policy and to speak directly to the public about important matters affecting public education.

Your executive has considered these issues carefully over the past six months, and is now prepared to begin a process that will ask you to consider new strategies to enhance our ability to meet this goal. There are a variety of options under discussion, including a move away from an elected volunteer president to a full-time paid president. The executive fully understand that any of these potential options present a significant change for the association. As a result, we have developed a thorough and inclusive process by which any decision to change our organizational structure would be made, beginning with full consideration of these options at the spring chapter meetings.

It is our belief that the 2008 AGM will be the most important one in many years — I hope that you will be able to join us as we consider a new course for BCSSA.

News

AGM Call for Nominations

This year’s AGM of the BCSSA will be held:

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2008
4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Victoria Conference Centre
Victoria, BC

The Nominating Committee presents the 2008-2009 proposed slate of officers: