July 30, 1996
(Education)

Statement on the Consolidation of School Boards

The following statement on the Consolidation of School Boards was issued today by Education Minister Roger Grimes at a news conference held at Confederation Building:

The passage of Bill 8 in the House of Assembly on July 26, 1996 has paved the way for restructuring of the administration and organization of the K-12 school system. Changes to the legislation which were passed last week permit government to divide the province into 10 school districts, appoint 10 interdenominational school boards, appoint a school construction board, and create a Commission scolaire Francophone.

SCHOOL BOARD BOUNDARIES

Over the past three years, government has engaged in considerable discussions with respect to the boundaries of school districts. As a result of these discussions, the province has been divided into 10 school districts. The locations of these boundaries will reflect the most efficient arrangement to administer schools.
Government is proceeding in an orderly and expeditious manner to implement these changes in a way that will minimize disruptions in the school system and which will reduce the uncertainty that has developed with respect to the administration of schools.

When will school boards be appointed?

School board members will be elected during provincial school board elections which are held at the same time as municipal elections. However, since the next municipal elections are not scheduled until the fall of 1997, it is necessary to establish interim boards to administer the schools until general elections can take place. Individuals will be appointed by Cabinet to serve on the 10 interim interdenominational boards. These people will serve as school board members until the fall of 1997.

Each new school board will consist of 18 members. The legislation requires that 2/3 of the membership (12) will represent the denominations which hold rights in education and 1/3 of the membership (6) will be "at large".

The number of denominational representatives for each denominational group is calculated to be in the same proportion as that group exists in the population of the school district. For example if 50 per cent of the population in the school district is Roman Catholic, there will be six Roman Catholic denominational representatives on the school board.

I have requested each of the Denominational Education Councils to nominate individuals for appointment as denominational representatives on school boards and I have asked the Newfoundland and Labrador School Boards Association to nominate individuals for appointment to the "at large" positions. I expect to receive these nominations very shortly.

This will permit government to appoint members to the new interim school boards within the next two weeks.

Shortly after the appointment of members to the interim school boards, the Department of Education will facilitate the first meeting of the new boards at which time a chairperson and members of the executive will be elected.

I anticipate that the first meetings of all 10 boards will be held before the end of August. I will schedule a meeting of the chairpersons of the new school boards as soon as possible after their election to the position.

When will senior school board staff be hired?

Each of the new school boards will hire a director of education who will act as chief executive officer of the board. In order to assist the new boards to assume responsibility for the administration of schools as soon as possible, advertisements seeking applications for these positions will appear in newspapers throughout the province tomorrow, July 31. Government is appreciative of the fact that the Newfoundland and Labrador School Boards Association has agreed to coordinate advertising for the 10 directors of education.

Applications for these positions must be postmarked no later than August 23, 1996. These applications will be held, unopened, by the Newfoundland and Labrador School Boards Association and will be given to the new school board chairpersons during our first meeting. The new boards will then be expected to appoint a personnel committee and complete the process of hiring a director/chief executive officer.

I anticipate that the 10 new directors of education will take up their duties by mid September.

Each school board will also hire three assistant directors of education; an assistant director of personnel, an assistant director of programs, and an assistant director of finance and administration. School boards will place advertisements for each of these positions as soon as possible after the first board meeting. It is expected that individuals will be hired to fill these positions by the end of September.

When will the current school boards be dissolved?

The legislation provides that the 27 current school boards will continue to exist and to administer schools within their jurisdiction until such time as they are dissolved by a ministerial order.

I will ask the chairperson of each of the 10 new school boards to advise me when the new board has determined it is appropriate to dissolve the existing boards in his or her area, following which I will issue an order that these boards be dissolved.

I anticipate that, within a two to three month period, all of the current boards will be dissolved.

What are the roles and responsibilities of the new boards during the transition period?

During the transition period following the appointment of the new boards and before dissolution of the current boards, the new boards will be empowered to:

• elect an executive committee;
• hire a director/chief executive officer;
• advertise for and appoint three assistant directors;
• begin the process of developing a constitution;
• prepare to transfer responsibility for the board finances;
• select a board office location;
• begin to develop an educational plan for the new district.

What are the roles and responsibilities of the current boards during the transition period?

During the transition period following the appointment of the new boards and before dissolution of the current boards, the current boards will be expected to:

• prepare a financial budget for short-term spending;
• plan for and continue the orderly administration of schools;
• plan for and effect the orderly transfer of administration of schools to the new board so as to minimize the effects on teaching and learning in schools.

Who will coordinate the transfer of responsibility at the local level?

Each district has been asked to establish a local district transition team to plan an orderly transfer of administration to the new board. This team will include at least the superintendent, business manager and chairperson. The local transition team will work closely with a provincial transition team which I appointed some time ago.

The next couple of months will present many challenges to everyone involved in the administration of the K-12 school system. It will be very important that everyone involved work together to minimize disruptions and uncertainty at the school level. Government is very appreciative of the many hours of volunteer work that school board members devote to the important task of delivering a quality education program to our children and we look forward to their continued support and cooperation as we commence the challenging task of reorganizing the administration of our schools.