Meeting of electors called after protest

Advocates say Regina School Division forum was not ‘democracy in action’

A special meeting of electors is scheduled for Feb. 28 at the Regina Public School Division office after a successful petition by a group that protested at the division’s community engagement forum in late January.

The forum on Jan. 30 was held instead of an annual meeting of electors, which school boards were legally required to host prior to changes to the provincial Education Act.

Members of a group called Real Renewal protested outside of Ecole Harbour Landing School before the forum, which saw about 55 parents and community members break into small groups to discuss concerns and questions with about 70 trustees and school administrators.

Petition organizer Florence Stratton said that structure was not an example of “democracy in action.”

“One of the wonderful things is you can freely in a public forum question the trustees. Anybody can stand up and ask a question, and there will be a good attempt to answer that question,” said Stratton.

Stratton said the special meeting of electors is in part to send a message to the school board, but also to the Saskatchewan government: Repealing so much of the Education Act has given “sweeping powers” to the education minister, which she said sets the path to get rid of school boards altogether.

“This current protest against the cancellation of the electors’ meetings is partly a resistance to that larger total elimination of school boards, or the possibility of it,” said Stratton.

A clause in the provincial government’s school division administration regulations requires a board to hold a special meeting of electors if presented with 25 or more signatures.

There is no set agenda for the special meeting, which is scheduled for Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. at the Regina public school board headquarters.

“It’s whatever the electors want to bring forward,” said Greg Enion, director of education.

Stratton knows of two motions that may be brought forward — one relating to a new course proposal, and the other relating to renaming Davin School.

The special meeting was scheduled at Tuesday’s public school board meeting, where trustees said no members of the protest group attended the community forum.

Enion said only three people approached the microphone at the 2017 annual meeting of electors, which is why the board contemplated the change in format.

“There was a feeling that we should be setting up a structure where it’s easier for other ratepayers and citizens to be able to speak,” he said.

At the January forum, “there was a high level of dialogue for over an hour and so we believe we’ve heard from many, many more voices than we did in the annual general meeting structure,” said Enion.

“It’s important not to diminish the success of the community engagement forum,” said trustee Tanya Foster.

“I found that we came away with really good sense of what some of the concerns and needs are in the community, in our education community.”