School Councils

A school council is designed to be the governing body for a site-based managed school. In theory, this incorporated body composed of teachers, parents and citizens is granted the power to manage education resources in order to meet the particular needs of the education community.

School councils imply a significant role change for parents and citizens and their relationship with the school. Members of the council have not only the power to direct education, but also the responsibility for the outcomes.

School councils were introduced in Alberta and Ontario and have their supporters and critics. Supporters claim that the decentralization of decision-making results in a better, more specific education for students, the opportunity to use the wisdom of teachers and parents, a more efficient central bureaucracy and a less expensive education system.

Critics maintain that school councils are neither effective nor sustainable. They say that an onerous burden of responsibility is loaded on the principal and staff, that parents and citizens do not have the training required to effectively manage education, that representatives will be hard to attract and keep, and that students will be the victims of poor decisions resulting from the lack of expertise and knowledge of the complexities of modern education systems.²

School Advisory Councils

The 1996 Nova Scotia Education Act specifies the roles and responsibilities for school advisory councils in the province. A School Advisory Council is a legally recognised body composed of the principal, teacher representatives, support staff, students, parents and community members who will work together in an advisory capacity to increase the quality of education in the school.³

It is important to note that school advisory councils have no decision-making powers. School advisory councils can make recommendations about the school and submit them to the school board but that does not ensure that any action will be taken. School advisory councils are mandatory in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick but they are optional in Prince Edward Island.

In section 23 (1) of the Nova Scotia Education Act there is allowance for the powers of a school board to be transferred to a school advisory council so that it would no longer be "advisory." In order for this to take place, the Minister, the school board and the advisory council must be in agreement. The purpose of this clause in the Education Act was to enable the empowerment of School Councils in schools participating in the Nova Scotia Site-Based Management pilot program.⁴