News release

Minister Appoints Boundary Review Task Force

Education (July 1999 - March 2013)

Education Minister Jane Purves today announced appointments to a task force to review the effectiveness of Nova Scotia's school board boundaries, fulfilling a government commitment.

"Three years after school board amalgamation is a good time to do a review," said Ms. Purves. "We want to determine if boards are operating well under this structure."

Pat Smith, a former president of the Nova Scotia School Boards Association, will serve as the committee's chair. Other members include Vicki Brown, former chair of the Halifax Regional School Board, Stan Surette, former executive director of the Nova Scotia School Boards Association, Frank MacInnis, former principal of the Nova Scotia Community College's Strait Campus, and Ernie Bolivar, mayor of Bridgewater and a former president of the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities.

"This group collectively reflects a wealth of experience in dealing with educational issues," said Ms. Purves. "I am pleased they have accepted the challenge, as we have a lot of work to do in a relatively short period of time."

The task force will receive submissions from the public during the month of January and report back to the minister by mid- February. This will allow any decisions to be implemented before school board elections next fall.

Task force members will hold separate meetings with each school board and with selected key education stakeholder organizations. The committee will also hold a public meeting in each school board region.

Nova Scotians will be able to express their views through a variety of communication mechanisms including a toll-free telephone line, fax, regular mail and the Internet. More details will be announced by the task force next week.