The governance role of school boards is not new. Local school boards have governed education in Canada since the 19th century. However, significant forces are impacting on school boards and how they enact their roles and responsibilities. In this article, the authors want to look at the growing pressures on school boards, to actively acknowledge…

Suggests that authority in educational decision making in Canada is simultaneously moving to the provincial level and to the individual school, thus making the school board an increasingly anachronistic and powerless body. Discusses contextual changes affecting perceptions and values of educational leadership, representation, and competence. (SV)

Declining population in rural Saskatchewan has led to declining resources. The Minister of Education has proposed consolidating schools and creating school councils that, although involved in local decision making, will not govern directly. It is unclear whether boards of education will remain intact or be consolidated with other human services…