An Official Trustee has been appointed to direct the work of the Eastern School District until the current mandate of the Trustees is satisfied, says Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Doug Currie.
“The interests of students, teachers and the education system as a whole dictated that steps had to be taken,” Minister Currie said. “Therefore, as a last resort, I have used the authority vested under the School Act to dissolve the existing board.”
The dissolution takes effect immediately. Patsy MacLean has been appointed as the Official Trustee for the Eastern School District. Ms. MacLean has an impeccable reputation in the public service domain. As the organizer of the Minister’s Summit on Learning, she heard first hand from educators and stakeholders what their expectations were for education in Prince Edward Island.
Ms. MacLean will focus on building public confidence in the work of the District, as well as overseeing senior staff and finances of the District and ensuring public input into policies and decisions.
“In recent days, it became abundantly clear to many that the existing board is unable to move forward policies to serve the interests of students and staff,” said Minister Currie. “In brief, it is clear that the acrimony among trustees has taken precedence over the interests of the school system.”
Following a committee of the whole meeting on February 16, members of the Eastern School Board Executive requested a meeting with the Minister and senior departmental staff.
“The message I received was the board is unable to function properly and this has resulted in an inability to move important policy forward,” Minister Currie said.
In December, the Board was directed by the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development to complete a number of initiatives in order to ensure the viability of the board. In addition to proving a willingness to work together cohesively, the Minister also asked that a number of agenda items be pursued, including:
• District Literacy Action Plan
• Inclusion policy
• Drug and Alcohol policy
“Clearly, these initiatives are important to student learning and I am confident the steps we are taking today will once again place those concerns as the first order of business,” said Minister Currie.