Alberta Education’s plan outlining the future of the provincial schooling over the next 20 years has been met with mixed reviews.
The 56-page Inspiring Education report mentions the possibility of school board governors being appointed or recruited in addition to the current election process.
“You can call it either inspiring education or undermining it, whichever way you look at it,” said Alberta liberal education critic Harry Chase.
“If you undermine the authority of the local trustees any further … than you basically remove their authority and what little local say they had.”
However, Minister of Education Dave Hancock said the election process will not be purged.
“I want to clear the air that there is not going to be an elimination of elected boards as the basis of local government through schools,” he said.
For Calgary Board of Education trustee Carol Bazinet, the possibility of changing the board selection procedures may be a good thing.
“I think it’s all with keeping in mind that we just want more people involved, more people to have a voice in their public education system,” she said.
The report was compiled by a 22-member steering committee along with input from around 4,000 Albertans, according to an Alberta Education release.
