New links sought between school boards

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca



Quebec’s English school boards will consider a greater link with their French counterparts, along with a host of recommendations put forward in a report released last Wednesday.

A 22-member advisory council of prominent Quebecers presented their non-binding suggestions to the Quebec English School Boards Association. The group was created by QESBA last November and the first meeting was held in March.

Recommendations focused on navigating the fast-changing environment, which includes declining enrolment and tightening budgets.

Several West Islanders sat on the council, including former Lakeshore School Board director general Catherine Prokosh, former Fédération des comités des parents du Québec president Gary Stronach, Montreal police Station 1 Commander Michel Lecompte, Order of Canada recipient George Springate and former Dorval mayor Peter Yeomans.

The group recommended cultural and linguistic exchanges with French school boards and it also suggested English school boards should share teachers, extracurricular activities and athletic facilities.

Prokosh said the seed has been planted to foster stronger relationships between French and English school boards.

“I’ve always had good co-operation in the public system between the French and the English,� she said. “There’s always a need to build on that.

“Each of the (school boards) have buildings and resources after hours and our community is no longer divided along language lines.�

The report referred to John Rennie High School as an example of how institutions can become the centre of community activities.

“The Lakeshore Players, the Lakeshore Light Opera, and the Pointe Claire Cultural Centre use the school auditorium for rehearsals and productions while the West Island Lakers Basketball Association rents an office and uses the gymnasiums at the school,� the report indicated. “The city (Pointe Claire) also uses the school gyms and fields throughout the year for their activities and summer camp and, in exchange, the school uses the municipal arena, fields and swimming pool.�

QESBA president and Lester B. Pearson School Board chairman Marcus Tabachnick said a working group will be assembled to examine the report. It will include director generals, members of the various boards of directors and senior management officials. An action plan should be ready before Christmas, he said.

Of the report’s 32 recommendations, Tabachnick believes the cultural and linguistic exchanges with French school boards are feasible in the short term.

He said another suggestion to hold a large conference on vocational education with French school boards and the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec is worth a close look.

“We’re going to take a look at all of them and if we can make the learning experience better, that’s what we’re here for,� the Dollard des Ormeaux resident told

The Chronicle.

Tabachnick hopes to create a working group for the LBPSB, which oversees English schools in the West Island, at next week’s meeting.

“There will be stuff that we may be able to do locally and then there will be other things that the (Quebec) English School Boards Association will do on a more global, province-wide basis,� he said.

Tabachnick was impressed with the fresh perspective brought forward by the eclectic group.

“The interesting thing was that the advice came from a group of people who were not associated with education necessarily,� he said, “so it’s representative of a cross-section of Quebec society who are telling us there are things that are doable in this day in age in Quebec that 10 years ago might not have been.�