School Manager's Report
Published in the RSAA Lunations
Vol1 Issue20 1–30 September 2021
As the lockdown drags on, many of us are finding it difficult to navigate through this crisis. I am acutely aware of some of your individual situations and we are working behind the scenes to help where we can. Being a full-time worker, full-time teacher/carer, full-time parent/partner or staying alone in many circumstances is definitely not an easy task. This too shall pass!
The installation of the solar panels was going full steam ahead before the lockdown. Now the work has stopped as no one is allowed on site. But I am hoping that the first batch of solar panels will be installed by November, with the future expansion of the panels installed by Q1 2022. As far as I know, we are the only school that has already started work to align ourselves with the ANU 2025 Below Zero Initiative. Hopefully by 2025, we will be able to make both our campuses carbon neutral.
As we are nearing the end of 2021, our financial position remains stronger than our counterparts to some degree (we are in black - just!). The financial positions of AITC and SSO are both stable at this point. As per the Expenditure Control Framework, we (like the rest of ANU) have been cut significantly this year. It seems that our allocation will not change next year as well (other than indexation), as per the information Brian shared in the CoS Town Hall. Matthew and I have tried to ensure that most of your requests are funded, but of course some of them have been knocked back. The School is a complicated entity and there are competing demands for financial resources from different areas. With limited resources, funding everything is not possible. In 2022, we will endeavour to support you the best we can with the limited resources we have.
Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Isabelle O’Toole for her services to RSAA. She has been a big support to RSAA while we navigated the financial crisis resulting from the economic impact of COVID-19. She has been calmly managing the School's accounts and assisted with the events, WHS, and HR operations of the School. She was instrumental in providing support to the AAT, AITC, ASTRO 3D, InSpace and the CoS finance team, who are all paying for the services they receive from RSAA's administration team. All areas of the School benefitted through the excellent service she provided. We wish her all the very best in her new job at ACT Health, where I'm sure that she will be an asset. We have set up a Zoom farewell for her, which I hope all of you can attend.
Rafat Alam
