There were big concerns masked by big chuckles at the last South East Cornerstone School Division board meeting.

The Ministry of Education is working quickly to change and repeal portions of the Education Act, particularly those pertaining to school board and their duties, which has the South East Cornerstone board worried about whether or not they will continue to exist. The Ministry is anticipating these amendments will already be in place for the upcoming 2017-18 school year.

Carol Flynn, vice chair of the board, says the entire board is "very concerned".

"They're not always going to be the government. Were not always going to be the board, if boards do continue to be there, so this is something that is long-term into the future they are changing. Changing the roles and responsibilities of boards and putting them on regulations is very worrisome for us. We feel we're going to be any local voice that is already there," she said.

Flynn concerns are numerous. She is worried the region will lose its local educational representation which was democratically elected and is currently entitled to a certain amount of autonomy. She also highlighted the early childhood educational work and the education interventions the division offers for students who need them. It won a Premier's award.

"When we're looking across the province, you have huge diversity and huge differences in needs and how are they going to address those if the Minister is calling the shots and giving diredtions to boards that everybody has to do things in the same way?" wondered Flynn.

Flynn encouraged those who are also concerned to contact their local MLAs and tell them about their concerns. The Ministry of Education is still meeting with boards and other stakeholders to discuss the changes.

Earlier this month, Deputy Premier and Education Minister Don Morgan introduced Bill No.63, The Education Amendment Act, 2017 for first reading in the Saskatchewan Legislature.

The proposed amendments are in response to findings from the Advisory Panel on Education Governance Renewal and are the result of public and education sector feedback received during the review consultations. The panel met with more than 45 stakeholders groups and heard from residents through more than 3,800 online submissions.

“We heard strong support for maintaining elected trustees and we listened,” Morgan said. “We also heard a clear need to ensure school divisions are being as efficient and effective as possible with the resources that are available.”

The amendments to The Education Act, 1995 will result in shifts in governance intended to allow for the implementation of a sector purchasing and services initiative to achieve efficiencies in the areas of transportation, bulk purchasing and having a common salary grid for senior school division administrators; standardizing board member costs; reinforcing the value of school community councils as a vital part of school division governance; and providing the Minister with oversight on student success targets and financial decisions.

Numerous sections pertaining to the boards of education duties, powers, and responsibilities as well as school divisions administrative matters have been repealed from the Act and will be moved into regulations which will be drafted with input from the education sector.

“During the consultation process, the people of Saskatchewan voiced their support for some changes to the way that school divisions are governed to build capacity and consistency,” Educational Governance Advisory Panel Chair Ray Morrison said. “We are pleased that the government is moving forward with changes based on the feedback received.”

Liam Choo-Foo, Director of Education for Chinook School Division, has been seconded by the Ministry of Education to lead the implementation of these changes across the province in a process that will include representation from education sector partners.