New School Board Governance Model

Quality education for students will continue to be the priority as the South Shore, Tri-County and Strait district school boards move to regional school board status in August 2004.

Cabinet approved today, April 22, the recommendation to move the district boards to regional status in time for the fall 2004 school board elections.

In 2000, the former Southwest Regional School Board was split into two district boards: the Tri-County and South Shore pilot district educational boards. These district boards shared a regional service provider, which was responsible for managing facilities, transportation, human resources and providing financial services support. The arrangement allowed the Tri- County and South Shore boards to focus on education.

This structure, separating facility and administrative support from educational matters, was extended to the Strait in 2002. The legislation that enabled both pilot boards will expire in October 2004.

The amendment to move these boards back to regional status, with responsibility for both education and facilities, will be introduced under the Financial Measures Act in this legislative session. It will include a provision that will allow the South Shore and Tri-County boards to share administrative services. Tri-County supports such an approach. The Strait's configuration is not conducive to the shared services model.

"The Tri-County, South Shore and Strait school boards have all worked hard throughout the pilot projects to deliver a quality education to students in their districts," said Education Minister Jamie Muir. "The new model will respect their work to date and provide for continued success."

The South Shore, Tri-County and Strait boards have all asked to revert to regional board status, but agreement about the new administrative structure how, the new boards will operate has only been reached with the Strait board.

Discussions continue with the Tri-County and South Shore boards. Representatives of these school boards and senior staff from the Department of Education have met many times over the past four months to explore how to best establish a regional board without adding additional administrative costs that could divert funding from the classroom. The meetings were the opportunity for the boards to contribute to new governance structures that would be sustainable over time. A shared services model was discussed.

"We know that shared services will work in the South Shore, but we're not satisfied that the proposals we've seen will protect resources for the classroom," said Mr Muir. "There is more work to be done."

The department's analysis found that the proposals from the Tri- County and South Shore school boards were not sustainable and had insufficient support services for information technology, human resources and finance. The omissions would have a negative impact on the delivery of education programs to students and support services to staff.

For example, the most recent proposal from the boards for two full-service models, showed a need for at least $700,000 in additional operational costs to make it sustainable and provide necessary support services.

The department was concerned this shortfall in funding could translate into salaries for at least 12 teachers. In addition, about $300,000 in one-time transition costs were not considered and seven jobs could have been eliminated in the South Shore office. The proposal did not include a plan to place these staff elsewhere. This proposal was not accepted.

The department intends to work closely with the South Shore and Tri-County boards to help them develop shared services that will be effective and have the proper accountabilities in place. Part of the discussion will include reviewing shared service models in other organizations.

"The department shares responsibility with the school boards to make the new governance model work," said Mr. Muir. "We will work together to ensure a smooth transition for students, staff, parents and others."

Meetings with the Tri County and South Shore board representatives will continue in the coming weeks.