It is over.
This should be the last time I mention Bill 64 or any similar legislation attempting to remove local community voice from education. At least I hope it will be. History will describe this bill as a piece of legislation that overreached. It went beyond where Manitobans are.
Since we last wrote about the bill, much has changed. We have a new interim Premier, a leadership race for the next Premier, and the intention of having Bill 64 disappear into history. However, we also have new evidence of what the removal of school boards does in a Province.
In 2018, the Nova Scotia government moved forward with legislation to eliminate school boards. Following a review, one of the recommendations was to remove elected boards and centralize decision making. In spite of the warnings that this would negatively impact democracy, shared decision making, mutual respect and meaningful local voice; the government of the day chose to go ahead and impact all of those areas.
Fast forward to 2021 and Nova Scotians elected a new government on August 17th.
I have been around politics long enough to know political stripes do not always determine what governments will do, especially when it comes to educational governance. This is not a commentary on the party that won the election with a majority government. It is however, a commentary on what they ran on as part of their platform.
In regards to education, page 107-108 of their Platform document says this:
- A local voice is critical, no matter the issue. When you lose your local voice, you lose a lot, and that is what happened when school boards were axed.
- The result of that poor decision: minimal local decision-making where there should be. School Advisory Councils (“SACs”) are not empowered with budgets and other key tools to have any effective input into the way schools are run and this shows up in the fact that, particularly in rural areas, many positions are difficult to fill. The SACs have never been empowered, have not been provided with a clear mandate and do not have oversight of the budget.
- Parents and guardians are frustrated.
- Abolishing school boards abolished a critical check and balance in the system. As such, your PC government will return school boards.
The document goes on and speaks to the process of returning elected school boards to Nova Scotia. It then adds:
- School boards enable local decision making based on local needs. The members of our school boards have their finger on the pulse of the students, schools and communities and they provide a critical public link to our schools.
- School boards look out for students above all else. Education is not a line item on their agenda, it is the only item. They prioritize our students and ensure they get the best education possible.
Finally, it states:
- Local communities know their schools and their schools’ needs the best and deserve a say in their futures.
Nova Scotians spoke and made their choice. It was not the only issue in the election; there are many differing reasons why people vote for who they vote for. However, in their speaking, they chose a government promising the return of locally elected boards. Time will determine whether or not this promise is fulfilled.
Manitobans have also spoken about the importance of local voice and choice. While it took time and pressure, government has listened.
However, with the death of this bill, the need for educational change in our province remains. As your elected School Board, we provided the K-12 Review Commission with over 20 recommendations on how to improve education in Manitoba for our students. It is time to examine these recommendations and move forward with those that make sense for our province. It is time to do this together.
It is also time for School Boards to focus entirely on what School Boards do – hearing from their communities, identifying needs and providing the framework and conditions for students to find success.
Your elected board continues to serve our communities as your local voice in education. Fortunately, that voice will continue. Thank you for raising your voice.