Orangeville trustee Bob Borden was acclaimed to his fourth term as Chair of the Upper Grand District School Board, and Guelph-Eramosa trustee Ralph Edwards as Vice- Chair at the inaugural meeting of the board Tuesday night.

In his inaugural address, Mr. Borden, a retired elementary school principal, reflected on the trustees' primary focus of improved student success, backed up by the efforts of all staff, saying, "As trustees, we want you to know that this board truly understands and appreciates that there would be no student success in the UGDSB without your daily efforts."

Mr. Borden commented on the year ahead and highlighted issues and challenges including negotiating new contracts with employee groups, and the introduction of the Long Term Accommodation Plan and the implementation of accommodation and boundary reviews. He also noted the gap between EQAO results and provincial expectations, and the amount of work that will be required to implement new safe schools provisions.

Vice-chair Edwards was first elected to the board during the 2000 municipal election, shortly after retiring from the position as President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) District 18 Teachers' Bargaining Unit. His teaching career included serving as a technical studies teacher at Guelph CVI and Centennial CVI.

A new Student Discipline Committee was established to deal with matters related to student suspensions and expulsions, including appeals as required by Bill 212, the new Progressive Discipline and School Safety legislation. Trustees Bob Borden, Lynn Topping, Susan Moziar, David Gohn and Jennifer Waterston were appointed to this committee.