Nova Scotia tables education bill that will scrap seven school boards
HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s seven English language school boards will be dissolved March 31 under proposed legislation tabled Thursday.
In a sweeping omnibus bill, the province will also remove principals, vice-principals and senior supervisory staff from the Nova Scotia Teachers Union. They will be rolled into a new association — and their seniority and pay will be protected.
In a compromise move, the government will work with teachers and their union to develop teaching and leadership standards instead of creating a college of educators.
The government said it has also agreed to work with the union on extracurricular activities, professional development, teacher recruitment, rural education, educational needs of new immigrants, French language education, students living in poverty, and children in care.
While the Acadian school board will remain in place, the other boards will be replaced by a new Provincial Advisory Council of Education composed of 15 members representing all regions of the province.
Two of those seats will be held by representatives of the African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaq communities. As well, a representative with experience in inclusive education will sit on the council.
An act to oversee the Acadian board will be introduced later in the session, the government said.
Kenneth Gaudet, chair of the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP) issued a statement praising the new Education Reform Act.
“A law that the CSAP can call its own is much more than symbolic,” he said. “For the first time, there will be a unique structure for French first language education. This new framework will inform a symbiotic, ‘winwin’ relationship between the ministry and the CSAP and will contribute to academic excellence.”
The $2.3-million in annual stipends and expenses paid to school board members “will go back into schools,” the government said in a statement said.
School board offices will remain in place, but they will become regional education centres.