Is François Legault proud of SSCs?

When François Legault founded the CAQ party, he and other pioneers of his party chose to include the abolition of school boards in their platform. I was happy.

Once elected, the CAQ government quickly took on the task. If you talk to François Legault, he will guarantee that the goods will be delivered to you. But is it really a success?

The only obvious one is the savings resulting from the abolition of school board elections and commissioner positions. That $45 million in savings has been reinvested in education, and I’m convinced it will be put to better use there.

This is a great savings, but it cannot revolutionize the government. Despite expenditures of more than $100 billion, the $45 million earmarked for school elections is not half a thousandth of Quebec’s total budget.

efficiency gains

But the idea of ​​abolishing school boards should not be limited to this simple saving of money. This was to be a major project to reduce bureaucracy and to equip and empower schools. The abolition of school boards should aim for efficiency and accountability gains that ultimately benefit students.

In fact, the government has not abolished school boards. He canceled school elections and turned school councils into school service centers. Basically, in many places, it feels like the same people are doing the same thing with the same bad tricks.

Same people doing the same thing, but under a new name. With new stationery, new business cards, and a new sign outside the front door.

Back to school mayhem

As I watch what happens in this new school year, I wonder what CAQ leaders think of their new creation: School Service Centers.

Bernard Drenville presented a disastrous picture of the teacher shortage this week. He pointed to the lack of 8558 teachers after obtaining the numbers from 71 centers out of 72 service centers. We understood from the Minister that getting data from almost all centers was already a success.

Last year, the picture had to be taken using data from about fifty centres. Basically, the school service centers are so stuck and cut off that the mere fact that the minister was able to collect the data is commendable. amazing!

Then, in the following days, we understood that this figure of more than 8,000 people was clearly exaggerated to the point of being false. Many of the available teachers haven’t received their call yet, so the job isn’t done.

Some service centers have admitted that they have already reduced the number of missing teachers by more than half. The number 8558 given by the minister was above all a reflection of the chaos on the ground.

School Service Centers are a creature of the CAQ. It’s hard to blame others.