The chair of the Greater Petite Area Community Association, says her group is looking at the province’s decision to fold school boards as an opportunity.
After filing a judicial review, a supreme court judge is set to make a decision this March on whether the local school board followed the school review process when voting to close Petite Riviere.
However, chair Stacey Godsoe says they are optimistic that recommendations from the Raise the Bar Report may help ‘unwind’ the problems they have had with the South Shore Regional School Board.
“We are definitely looking at it as an opportunity, we are hopeful that it gives … a clear path to unwind the problem, a clear path for the (education) minister to intervene.”
Godsoe says they are pleased with the emphasis on rural education in the report.
The group is also in agreement with the Raise the Bar report’s suggestion of having closer ties with school advisory councils.
Although Godsoe says she recognizes that school board’s have a difficult job, she believes the move to dissolve Nova Scotian school boards reflects the feelings many have when it comes to the education system,
However she is wary about the democratic implications tied to eliminating the boards.
“I think that Nova Scotians spoke pretty clearly that change was needed, that folks felt that they weren’t being heard, that it wasn’t clear how decisions were made, who to go to for support and advocacy.”
Godsoe acknowledged that dissolving school boards will likely not affect the judge’s decision on whether the board followed the school review process.
