School boards across the province will be gone at the end of the month.
The Liberal government passed Bill 72 through the Nova Scotia Legislature last night.
Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Zach Churchill says the eight English-speaking school boards offered very different levels of transportation, health and other services.
And the province wants to level the playing field for all Nova Scotia students.
“It’s these inconsistencies that we do want to address. So that no matter where you are pursuing an education in this province, you statistically, we have the same chance at success.”
Churchill says he has heard from administrators across the province about the difficult situations they’ve been in.
“They are in conflict. There have been situations where they have received union directives that have put them in direct competition with the laws of the province and their responsibilities to students.”
The bill has strained relations with the Nova Scotia Teachers Union as it will remove principals and vice principals from that union.
The NSTU released a statement following the passage of Bill 72 last night.
Union president, Liette Doucet calls Bill 72 poorly designed and warns government hasn’t taken time to consider the consequences of their actions.
She’s concerned pulling administrators out of the union will upend a very collegial relationship between principals and teachers and bring division to schools.
Doucet predicts that “long after Stephen McNeil stops being Premier, the teachers and administrators who are directly impacted by Bill 72 will still be cleaning up the mess it creates.”
She says Bill 72 has badly damaged teacher’s morale and the toxic environment created by this government will not be easy to overcome.