Wall-to-wall opposition to school reform
Moreau says proposals aim to give parents, teachers greater control
Freshly back from fighting a flu-like virus, Education Minister Pierre Moreau found himself Tuesday fending off attacks from all sides, as he launched public hearings into his government’s proposed school board reform.
Bill 86 aims to eliminate province-wide school board elections and replace elected councils of commissioners, which currently oversee school board operations, with school councils made up of six parents, one teacher, one nonteaching staff, two principals, and six community members. Each school board’s director-general would also sit on the council, as a non-voting member. The goal, Moreau said, is to give parents and teachers greater control over their schools.
According to the bill, if 15 per cent of parents in the community agree an election is needed to select the six community members, then one will be held, with voting being done online.
The government spent $20 million on elections in November 2014 in which five per cent of francophones and 17 per cent of anglophones participated.
Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSDM) chair Catherine Harel Bourdon told the National Assembly committee looking into Bill 86 that Quebec could boost participation rates if it twinned school board elections with municipal elections, but recognized in the same breath that unions representing municipalities are against the idea.
Harel Bourdon insisted school commissioners are the “cement holding the system together.”
And the school board’s parent committee agreed the bill — even though it gives more parents the right to vote on school matters — would hurt the system.
Some parent committee representatives at the CSDM currently work full-time solving problems and making million-dollar decisions, said Mélanie Robinson. Bill 86 would transform that kind of salaried work into volunteer work. “Sure, parents will be present but will they be well prepared?” she asked, adding at least five other parent committees in the province share her point of view.
Instead of wasting time overhauling structures, why not develop a provincial plan to boost student success, asked psychologist and Université Laval professor Égide Royer.
“It’s possible to do both, that’s exactly what we want to do,” Moreau told reporters.
PQ education critic Alexandre Cloutier said Bill 86 hearings coincide with Quebec’s Hooked on School Days, celebrating perseverance in schools.
The graduation rate for boys in Quebec is about 65 per cent.
“When will the minister reinvest in schools,” Cloutier asked, during a heated exchange with Moreau in question period.
Government investments have gone from $182 million in 2011- 2012 to $215 million today, the highest they’ve ever been, Moreau responded.
Still, the minister appeared willing to make concessions — he said he will most likely open public hearings into Bill 86 to many more groups, and spend more time than what was previously scheduled studying the bill, which at this rate, may not pass in time for the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year, he said.
Moreau also promised to amend the bill, but Sylvia Martin-Laforge from the Quebec Community Groups Network said Tuesday she would much prefer the piece of legislation be dropped. She said Anglophones in Quebec have constitutional rights over their schools and Anglo groups are not excluding legal action.
“There is a threat of court, we’ll have to see,” she said.
Hearings continue on Feb. 23.
When will the minister reinvest in schools? ALEXANDRE CLOUTIER, PQ education critic