SACs: New Roles - Question Period

MS. CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : My question is for the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. When the minister eliminated democratically elected school boards in March, he offered up an expanded role for school advisory councils as reassurance. Parents, teachers, students, and administrators who make up SACs have been meeting, but they still have no clarity about what this expanded role is. They haven't received an updated handbook. They haven't received guidance on how their new bylaws or terms of reference should align with the new administrative structure for education.

We're now six months into this process, and it still seems like the minister is making it up as he goes along. Mr. Speaker, when will the minister provide SACs with clarity around their new roles?

HON. ZACH CHURCHILL « » : We have already provided the regions with the new framework for SAC involvement, which includes an increase in their budgets. They can spend $5,000, plus $1 for every student that's in their school on areas related to student well-being and achievement.

We're expanding their involvement from a policy perspective. We're going to be engaging them in the bussing conversation. We're engaging them in extracurricular volunteer conversations as well. Those are the first two policy priorities that we're engaging them with.

My expectation was that this information would have been delivered to SACs. I know a lot of SACs don't meet until the end of September or the beginning of October, so perhaps there are some that just haven't received that information. We'll make sure that they get it as soon as possible.

MS. CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, the minister legislated away school boards in March. School started in September. It's now October, and the Provincial Advisory Council on Education hasn't met, and school advisory councils, whether or not they should, have no idea what they're supposed to be doing. None of this is reassuring for parents, teachers, or students.

This summer, the minister said in a release that SACs would have access to new funds to support their works, and he said it again in this House. Here, too, we have more questions than answers. Parents are wondering if these are actually new funds or just a new name for the student support grants that schools already had access to. Mr. Speaker, will the minister confirm that the funds being provided to SACs are in fact new money?

MR. CHURCHILL « » : We did work to expedite the appointment of the Provincial Advisory Council on Education. I'll remind the member that she and the Progressive Conservatives did delay that process by a few days. We are working with them right now to get them together . . . . (Interruption)

MR. SPEAKER « » : Order, please. The honourable Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development has the floor.

MR. CHURCHILL « » : We're working with them right now to find a date when they can all meet for the first time. The high-quality people that we have in that group are really excited to begin their work, and I will inform the member that the new dollars that are going into the SACs are actually savings we did find in . . . . (Interruption)

MR. SPEAKER « » : Order, please. The honourable member for Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River will come to order.

The honourable Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. CHURCHILL « » : The dollars used are from the savings we did find in re-organizing the government structure of the education system, one that was contributing to low achievement levels and disproportionate levels of achievement from one region to the next. Those are new dollars going to our school communities that are above and beyond the grants the member spoke of.