Quebec school boards won't be merged after all

Education Minister François Blais has decided not to go ahead with merging school boards across the province, saying it wouldn't actually save that much money.

• Quebec to lose 2 of its 9 English-language school boards

Blais told the media at the National Assembly on Wednesday morning that after studying other school board mergers, the government realized there wouldn't be as many cost savings as previously expected.

"I don't see the relevancy for schools, I don't see the relevancy for budget cuts. It will be possible to change the configuration of school boards in the future, but in the short term I prefer to work on governance, the importance to protect the autonomy and revitalize the autonomy of schools," Blais said.

In the fall, the province announced the number of English-language school boards would drop to seven, from nine.

The number of French-language school boards would have decreased from 60 to 36.

However, Josée Bouchard, the president of Quebec's federation of school boards, said Blais's backtracking is hardly a victory. 

Bouchard said as far as she can tell, Blais has no plans to reverse other decisions to decentralize school board governance and abolish school board elections.

The federation represents the majority of French-language school boards in Quebec.

Protecting Anglos' rights

A committee led by former Liberal MP Marlene Jennings said this week that keeping the current provincial school board system in place is a matter of protecting the constitutional rights of English-speaking Quebecers. 

• Former MP Marlene Jennings joins fight to save English school board elections

A group of English community groups including the Quebec English School Boards Association, the Quebec Community Groups Network, the English Parents Community Association and the Quebec Federation of Home and Schools published a report on Wednesday, recommending changes to the current system. 

The clear consensus is that English-speaking Quebecers are interested in and value their school boards.- Marlene Jennings

The report, completed between June and August, recommends the Quebec government maintain school board elections by making it easier for people to vote. 

"The clear consensus is that English-speaking Quebecers are interested in and value their school boards," Jennings said. 

On CBC Montreal's Homerun, Jennings also stressed the importance of maintaining English-speaking school boards. 

"The larger the linguistic minority community, the more direct control it should have over education in that community," she said.

The report recommends elections continue to be run by the school boards but Elections Quebec oversee the process. It also recommends voting be made available online, by telephone and by mail-in ballot. 

The group suggests the voter registration process be modified so that English graduates, their parents, as well as English people over the age of 18 be automatically added to the English school board voting list.