Findings of K-12 education review being shared Monday

The Education Minister says a report educators have been waiting to hear the results of for the past year will be released on Monday.

A Manitoba K-12 Education Review will be released just after school ends on Monday, at 3:30 p.m. Minister Cliff Cullen would not divulge details of the report's findings, telling reporters they will learn more on Monday.

Manitoba School Boards Association President Alan Campbell is concerned about the possible amalgamation of school boards.

"Bill 64 and the K-12 review are widely expected to call for the forced elimination of school boards, for the forced amalgamation of school divisions. Local accountability to you, Manitobans, will be eliminated in the process," he says in a video statement.

Cullen would not confirm or deny the suspicion.

"Quite frankly, we learned a lot from COVID over the last year. I think a couple of things we did learn from COVID is we recognize the system is quite resilient, is able to adapt to change which I think is quite positive, but on the other side of it too we recognized we had 30 different entities out doing their own thing."

He says that was difficult for the government to manage.

Campbell says there is no evidence to support the elimination of democratically elected school boards or forcing the amalgamation of school divisions will either improve student outcomes or save tax dollars.

"If anything, there is evidence to show that this will only waste your tax dollars. So why has this government continued to consider these ideas?"

The Education Minister says this report was one of the largest consultations in Manitoba's history. He says students, parents, educators, school boards, academics, Indigenous organizations, la francophonie, municipal councils, professional organizations, the business community and members of the public all contributed.

“When we release the new strategy next week, you will see how it will improve outcomes and achievement for all students across the province,” Cullen says.

The report will combine the 2019 review with learnings from the pandemic.