Education saga continues on P.E.I.

Now that consultation phase of the school review process is winding down, what role will the Board of Directors of the Public Schools Branch play in the future? Throughout the process, both Education Minister Doug Currie and the three directors have tried to paint the process as similar in format to other occasions when elected school boards recommended school closures. The last time was in 2009, when the Eastern School District recommended the closure of 11 schools to the Liberal government of Robert Ghiz. Government approved the closure of eight schools, but two of the schools that earned a reprieve (Georgetown and St Jean’s) are targeted again this time.

While the Eastern School District took policy direction from the Department of Education, they were a self-governing entity in their day-to-day operation. The Public Schools Branch is a different animal altogether.

It has no operational independence from the department - it is part of the department. Several presenters have accused Susan Willis of being in a conflict of interest during the process because she is both board chair and deputy minister of the department. She isn’t really because there is no real independence between the board of directors and the department. The former school principal never has to take off her deputy minister’s hat because there is only one entity. It is a less than ideal situation. Willis and the other two members of the board have a strong background in education and are more than qualified to conduct the review. However, an entity chaired by the second in command of the department and whose employees are now all employees of the department (the report that led to the school closures in 2009 was prepared by school board employees) simply can’t be viewed as operating independently.

The board has been absorbing virtually all of the public anger associated with the report and it will be interesting to see whether Education Minister Doug Currie sees the merit in having a buffer when it comes to other controversial issue as well. If he does, a board of directors hand-picked by him or his successor will stay. If he determines there are no really controversial issues on the horizon, he may disband the group.

One thing is for sure, the odds of having elected English Language trustees under this system are about the same as a space shuttle landing in your backyard. There is only one person elected in the Department of Education (or any other government department for that matter) and that is the minister.

It will also be interesting to see when the Board of Directors makes their recommendations. The report recommends any changes be in place in time for the next school year in September. Understandably, school officials need some time to put the infrastructure in place, especially in any areas where school closures are slated.

However, politics and planning are likely to intersect and the smart money is on politics to win. The legislature opens for its spring session in early April and it is highly unlikely government would want the final decision made during the session. It is sure to be a hot topic anyway but the Wade MacLauchan government won’t want to give any potential Conservative leadership hopefuls inside the rail any extra ammunition.