Public to have input on legislation for how school boards are governed

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

In the past it’s been up to the education minister to decide how to deal with dysfunctional school boards.

Now, as she and her department draw up new legislation, Karen Casey is giving the public a chance to have its say on options boards can use to govern the conduct of their members.

The proposed legislation, which Casey intends to introduce during the fall sitting of the legislature, allows for a broader range of disciplinary measures for school boards. It ensures board members will have access to a fair and transparent appeal process. It also sets out guidelines and expectations of elected board members and their meetings.

Written submissions from school boards, other education partners and the public are being accepted until Aug. 22. The input will be used to help prepare the new legislation.

Casey had promised new legislation since the existing Education Act didn’t leave her with any other option than to disband the Halifax and Strait school boards when their members could not work together. In both cases all of the elected board members were replaced with one appointed person.

Faye Haley, chair of the Tri-County Regional School Board, thinks the minister is making the right move. She says it makes sense to be able to deal with individuals.

“It’s like in a classroom,” she says. “You don’t punish a whole class because of what one or two students are up to.”

The proposed legislation includes many recommendations. At first glance, Haley isn’t so sure about the one that disallows byelections when a seat becomes vacant. But she agrees with increasing a school board chair’s term from one year to two.

“It takes a while when you pick up something new to get the swing of it and just about the time you’re beginning to feel some sense of confidence, all of a sudden it’s on the line again,” she says.

The discussion document is available online at the Department of Education website at www.ednet.ns.ca.

Comments can be submitted by email to educconsultations@gov.ns.ca, by fax at 902-424-0519 or by sending them to: School Board Effective Governance Review, Nova Scotia Department of Education, Corporate Policy Branch, P.O. Box 578, Halifax, N.S., B3J 2S9.

Among the recommendations of the government discussion paper are:

•Every school board member takes an oath of office and pledges to abide by a code of ethics;

•School boards have the authority to censure individual board members, with penalties that can include a public reprimand, suspension from the board or a recommendation to the minister to vacate a member's seat;

•A censured member has the right of appeal to a one-person adjudicator;

•The minister has the authority to appoint one or more people to replace an entire board;

•No more byelections to fill vacant seats. A seat vacant less than six months before an election will remain vacant. If a seat will be vacant for more than six months before the next election, the minister may appoint a replacement from the geographic or representational area; and

•The term of school board chair be extended to two years from one.