Our students are why we advocate.
RVS continues to experience pressures from significant year-over-year growth. As elected representatives of our communities, the Board calls on governments to provide funding and resources to ensure all students can learn, belong and succeed.
The Board's advocacy priorities reflect the goals and desired outcomes of the 2022 – 2026 Strategic Plan, which focuses on providing students with an education and school experience that supports them in achieving their absolute best. To support the Board’s vision of RVS as a world-class learning organization where all students achieve their absolute best, the Board advocates for Space for Students and Supports for Students.
SPACE for STUDENTS
Municipal and provincial governments must support growing school divisions in bolstering infrastructure where students and staff can thrive.
- RVS provides a positive, quality learning experience to more than 29,000 public students in Kindergarten to Grade 12, and an appropriate number of spaces for these students is required to support their learning and well-being.
- RVS’ student population continues to grow by about 600 – 1,000 students annually.
- RVS continues to need new schools, modernizations and expansions, modular classrooms and shovel-ready school sites. Ongoing population growth in all our communities continues to impact school enrolment numbers. From Kindergarten to Grade 12, our students need and deserve space in which to learn and grow.
SUPPORT for STUDENTS
Government must invest in the success of every student to ensure all students experience an education that is inclusive, safe and supportive.
- The Weighted Moving Average (WMA) funding model which uses an average of three years of enrolment numbers to determine an average does not provide equitable funding to a growing division like RVS. Supplemental grant funding helps but does not eliminate the need for RVS to fund these students by pulling financial resources from other areas.
- Appropriate funding for complexity in classrooms and mental health/wellness supports and resources is required of government.
- Provincial government funding for public education must be prioritized and strengthened.