BIBLE HILL – It was an emotional goodbye for members of the Chignecto-Central Regional School Board earlier this week.
School board members, some who have been at the table as long as 20 years, joined with staff in saying a final farewell Thursday to how education is governed in this province.
“Thank you to all of board members, past and present,” said Chair Trudy Thompson. “We have worked well together and our focus has always been on the students we serve.”
The province announced its plans in January to dissolve seven regional schoolboards and replace them with one province-wide advisory council.
The Education and Early Childhood Development department announced the decision Jan. 24 after a report written by international education consultant Dr. Avis Glaze recommended a ‘coordinated provincial approach’ would offer a clearer alternative to seven separate boards.
In her report, Glaze said the eight independent school boards – including the francophone school board – operating with their own mandate slowed the education system’s ability to respond to changing student needs.
Thompson said after watching the legislature vote along party lines for the changes to education made her proud of her own board and how members freely voiced their concerns and opinions.
“I was reminded how this board functions and how powerful it is. Individually we each expressed our thoughts according to our beliefs and always voted according,” she said, adding board members always respected the outcome of the vote. “Other provinces have gone down this road and disbanded their school boards and have found they had to bring back some form of regional governance. I will be following how the education system evolves and I will be waiting for the day when regional governance is brought back. “
School Board Superintendent Gary Adams complimented the members on their accomplishments over the years, including its International Student Program, an extensive Career Exploration Program for high school students, Restorative Approaches in Schools, CCRSB’s Social Justice Framework, Stand Up – Speak Out! and a Gold Award Pupil Transportation service that was expanded to include the Chignecto area.
“This board has much to be proud of. Many of our long serving members can cite numerous initiatives that took root within CCRSB over the years, sometimes influencing practice and policy beyond our boundaries as the positive results were realized,” he said.
The board has also had a balanced budget for the past 20 years and was working towards another one at the end of this fiscal year, said Finance Chair Ron Marks.
District one school board member David Myles said his heart was heavy as the board’s time drew to a close.
“I am experiencing a tremendous loss of community and feel democracy has been bypassed,” he said, adding that fears the check and balances the board had in place will be gone. “The local voice and responsibility will be lost to a great degree and I feel uncertainty for the future of the staff and students. I feel a profound sense of loss.”
District 10 member Wendy Matheson-Withrow thanked the school board staff for their knowledge and assistance over the years while Glenda Talbot-Richards, who is the African Nova Scotian board member, thank her fellow members for their commitment to the students and their learning.
Thompson said an email chain would be going out in the near future with all of the addresses for the current board members and they will be asked if they would like to meet again in April 2019 to see how the proposed changes are working.
