District education councillors fear their days are numbered

Some members of district education councils are raising concerns about a draft plan by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to replace school governance structures this year in a way that has fewer elected community members and fewer parent representatives.

Thomas Geburt of Oromocto said he and other DEC chairs were shown a draft model March 2 that would see DECs and parent school support committees eliminated and replaced by a provincial board and regional councils.

"It's a lot less representation," Geburt said.

DECs were established in the province in 2001, after school boards were abolished in 1996.

Each council is responsible for things like setting policies that superintendents have to implement, overseeing trust funds, recommending school closures and setting capital spending priorities.

A council also maintain links with school parent committees, approves and monitors the district education plan and look at the expenditures plan for the district.

The school parent committee's role includes advising principals about policies, community partnerships, and maintaining a "positive climate." The committee also provides support for the school's language and culture.

The draft changes call for all parent committee responsibilities to transfer to the new regional councils, said Geburt. 

DEC responsibilities would be divided between the regional councils and the new provincial board.

Currently, each district has a DEC consisting of 11 to 13 members, elected for four-year terms. And every school has a parent committee with up to 12 members.

With the new model, it's not clear how many people would be on the provincial board, said Geburt, but some would be elected and some appointed.

He said he's been told each regional council would probably consist of 12 members:

The Education Department announced in December that "stakeholders" in the education system would be working "to change decision-making processes, including how district education councils are composed and organized, and to improve community engagement."

At the time, Education Minister Dominic Cardy referred to his 2019 green paper commitment to "better support principals, teachers, students and parents."