Nova Scotia education bill subject to heavy criticism
— Proposed legislation that would radically change the administration of Nova Scotia’s school system was called everything from “undemocratic” to “unneeded” by a series of speakers who voiced their opposition before a legislature committee Monday.
More than 60 speakers were scheduled to make presentations before the law amendments committee on Bill 72, which would largely implement reforms recommended in a recent report by education consultant Avis Glaze.
Among other things, the legislation would eliminate the province’s seven English language school boards while revamping the membership of the 9,600member Nova Scotia Teachers Union to remove about 1,000 principals, vice-principals and senior supervisors.
“There is nothing in this legislation that will improve student achievement,” said Peter Day, a middle school teacher from Sydney Mines, N.S.
“The recommendations of the Glaze report are a fabricated solution to a crisis in education that does not exist. An attack on democracy ... by taking away the ability of elected board members and appointing new ones of this government’s choosing is not a solution to what ails the system.”
Day said more human resources — including teachers, speech language pathologists and social workers — would make a bigger difference in schools than the administrative changes in the bill.
He also spoke out against the removal of administrators from the teachers union.
“This bill is not about students, it is about control of those who could oppose you,” Day said.
Suzy Hansen, a member of the Halifax Regional School Board, said she opposes the elimination of boards as an African Nova Scotian with six children in the school system.
Hansen said she was concerned about the loss of local voices at the decision-making table and the unintended consequences on “the achievement gap” between the academic performance of African Nova Scotian children and other students in the system.
“We are unaware of what policies are going to be kept and what aren’t going to be kept,” said Hansen. “There definitely are things that need to be addressed, but doing a clean sweep and an abrupt change so quickly is not going to help. It’s only going to push us back further.”
Dave Wright, a Halifax school board member and vice-president of the Nova Scotia School Boards Association, told the committee that if the legislation passes, he would be “passing on the torch” on a wide range of responsibilities now covered by the boards to bureaucrats and members of the legislature.
“When someone votes for you, they may be voting for capital for hospitals or because their road is a piece of garbage,” said Wright. “When someone votes for me, they know absolutely that I am there to represent education.”
Under the legislation, the Acadian school board would remain in place, while the other boards would be replaced by a new Provincial Advisory Council of Education composed of 15 members representing all regions of the province.
School board offices would remain in place, but they would become regional education centres that would continue to make regional and local decisions, although the superintendents would report to the deputy minister of education.
There would also be local advisory councils under the proposed model.