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Moving forward on reinstating an elected school board

CANADA, May 5 - The Province is fulfilling its commitment to reinstate an elected school board for the Public Schools Branch (PSB). Amendments to the Education Act were brought forward today in the provincial legislature.

“Our children deserve a world-class education system and a key element of building it is making sure our legislation meets the needs of our communities. The goal is for Islanders to have a stronger voice in our education system. Empowering community leaders in the decision making process will cultivate a broad range of perspectives, and help us to build a stronger system for all Islanders.”

- Education and Lifelong Learning Minister Natalie Jameson

After extensive consultation and public discussions, it is evident that Islanders support the reinstating of elected school boards, to have community trustees advocating on their behalf for every region of the province. 

“The amendments are reflective of feedback we received through the consultation process and the work already underway at the department to enhance community engagement and strengthen partnerships,” said Minister Jameson. “We are grateful to all those who participated in these important discussions about the future of education in our province.”

Upon approval of the bill, new regulations will be enacted for school board elections to take place through Elections PEI in fall 2022. The proposed new model includes a hybrid Board for the Public Schools Branch, including 8 elected trustees from across the province and 3 appointed members – one Mi’kmaq representative, and 2 members at large appointed through Engage PEI. The French Language School Board will continue to be elected and consist of 9 elected trustees from across the province. 

The province is also committed to working with the education authorities to further integrate the voice of students into school governance. 

“We recognize the importance of engaging students, and student voice, in the operations of our school systems, added Minister Jameson. “We will be working with the Education Authorities to develop new ‘student engagement’ policies that support reaching out to students on a regular basis, on matters that affect them within the school setting.”

Media Contact Autumn Tremere Department of Education and Lifelong Learning agtremere@gov.pe.ca

Backgrounder

Proposed outline of Elected School Boards

  Public Schools Branch La Commission scolaire de langue française 
Election Timing - Oct 2022 - Then every three years  

-  Oct 2022 - Then every three years

(This is a delay from May 2022)  

Trustees - 8 elected trustees - 3 appointed trustees 1 Mi’kmaq representative (appointed by the Assembly of Councils) 2 members at large (appointed through Engage PEI)   No change - continues to be 9 elected trustees 
Electoral Zones 7 zones based on ‘family of schools’ - 1 trustee from each zone 1-2-3-4-6-7 - 2 trustees from zone 5 (Ch’Town) No change – continues to be - 6 electoral zones - 2 trustees from each zone 1-3-5 - 1 trustee from zones 2-4-6
Trustee Terms - 8 elected - 3 years term - 1 Indigenous Representative - 2 years - 2 Members at large - 2 years - 9 elected – 3 years - Reduced from 4 years to align with PSB  
Proposed PSB Electoral Zones – Student Enrollment (Based on 2021-2022 Enrollment)
Electoral Zone Family of schools Student enrollment
1 Westisle 1,993
2 Three Oaks 2,945
3 Kensington / Kinkora 689/448
4 Bluefield 3,030
5 Charlottetown 7,861
6 Montague 1,858
7 Morell / Souris 573/514