The Manitoba government announced plans Monday to eliminate almost all elected school boards across the province (including the Flin Flon School Division board) and to amalgamate the FFSD with three other northern divisions.
The changes are part of the provincial government’s Kindergarten-Grade 12 education review and Bill 64, the proposed “Education Modernization Act”, which was publicly released March 15. The report was formally completed last March, but its release was delayed for a full year due to COVID-19. The act was introduced in Manitoba’s legislature back in November, but the contents of the act were not made public, even to MLAs, until March 15.
Under the announced plan, Manitoba’s existing 37 school divisions will be whittled down to one provincial education authority with 15 regions and the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine (DSFM), which covers French-language schools in southern Manitoba. Elections will continue to be held for the DSFM, but all other elected boards - including the FFSD board - will be replaced with one provincial advisory council made of between six and 11 people and smaller school councils.
The FFSD will be also combined with Frontier School Division, Kelsey School Division in The Pas and the Mystery Lake School Division in Thompson, forming one mega-division for all northern Manitoba schools.
The Reminder has reached out to the FFSD for comments about the changes - no full comment had been received as of press time. The report was released shortly before The Reminder’s weekly deadline and FFSD executive staff, who had only had a chance to see the report upon its public release, had not yet had time to read the full report.
“It’s a lot to digest,” said one FFSD administrator.
According to the province, the changes were made in order to streamline school services throughout Manitoba.
“Today, I am pleased to release our response and I look forward to making Manitoba the most improved province when it comes to education,” said provincial education minister Cliff Cullen in a press conference following the act’s public release.
“The act, Bill 64, is a modern rewrite and will replace our older, existing statutes with one act. This will enable us to unify our education system and create a new governance structure that will allow educators to focus on what they do best - educate our students.”
According to the plan, each region of Manitoba will have one member representing them on the provincial advisory council.
Other changes announced in the review including removing school principals and vice-principals from collective bargaining units with the Manitoba Teachers’ Society (MTS) union. Services like workforce planning, procurement, investments and infrastructure, will be consolidated in the authority instead of by a local or regional school board.
Cullen said the change would allow the province to free up around $40 million - about three per cent of the province’s annual education budget - for programming and resources, but did not provide details about where in the province that money may be allocated.
Reaction to the changes was swift and mostly negative from Manitoba education groups. The Manitoba School Boards Association (MSBA) condemned the changes.
“If you want to waste tax money and take time and support away from our students, amalgamation and forced amalgamation of your local school divisions will do just that. If you want to eliminate accountability for what happens in schools and have Broadway call all the shots when it comes to your children's education when in school, allowing government to eliminate your locally elected school boards will do just that,” reads an MSBA statement on the changes.
“With the release of the K-12 report and the introduction of Bill 64 earlier today, the Pallister government is continuing the dismantling of our public education system,” reads a statement issued by the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations (MOFA) following the province’s announcement. MOFA was one of several provincial groups that condemned the government’s changes.
“MOFA strongly believes that the elimination of our school boards is fundamentally undemocratic and reduces crucial democratic input from both parents and Manitobans at large. From day one, we’ve seen that this Conservative government was unwilling to work with anyone who objected to their needless austerity, instead choosing to unilaterally cut funding to services that Manitobans depend on.
