ADSBA number of capital projects are on the way for the Algoma District School Board.  Trustees approved various projects totalling 4.9 million dollars.  This includes 2 million for facility renewal ranging from roofing and asbestos removal to entrance and bleacher upgrades.  Another 2 million will go to improving school conditions including HVAC, interior, exterior and site upgrades at Northern Heights and locker upgrades at CASS and White Pines.  Six schools in the Sault and Algoma District will share 941 thousand dollars for kindergarten and play area upgrades and for an elementary addition at CASS. Funding for child care relocation upgrades for River View and Etienne Brule schools was not included in the overall capital projects — the amount for those upgrades is yet to be determined.

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The Algoma District School Board’s graduation rate would appear to be impressive.  Just how impressive depends on what figure is used.  Superintendent of Education Joe Maurice attempted to make that clear in a presentation on the subject, prior to the Ministry of Education releasing grad rates of all Ontario school boards.  He compared the public board’s grad rate last year of about 71.5 percent to the provincial rate of 83 percent.  It was mentioned that the Ministry of Education would use the 71.5 percent figure based on OSSD data.  The figure for the Algoma District School Board is also based on the students that came from the Grade 9 cohort in 2009-2010.  But the public board number from 2013-14 goes up to 78.1 percent when factoring all students who earned their Ontario Secondary School Diploma and rises to just over 80 percent when it includes grads who earned an Ontario Secondary School Certificate or a Certificate of Achievement. Those two categories primarily deal with grads who are at least 18 years old and wind up in the workforce.  A question was asked why the lower figure would be published. Maurice answered that the province was going for a target rate of 85 percent of students earning their OSSD.  He added that the news was still positive, with the grad rate going up at least 5 to 6 percent at the public board over the last five years. Director of Education Lucia Reece suggested that it was still a positive result and that all of the data may be used to determine the grad rate of individual schools in future years.