How is the power split between the school board and school?

[Amelie Bergeron-Vachon]

Hi all,

I want to preface this by saying I know working in the school system is hard, even harder with covid, that teachers aren't paid and valued enough, that there are not enough resources in schools, and that the vast majority of teachers and principals most likely are competent, have great intentions and do their best.

I'm just trying to understand something that makes no sense to me, wondering for things to be different would I need to go to a different school or a different school board? If I wanted to bring this issue forward and collaborate with people for things to be different in the future, would I need to volunteer on the school's board of parents and committees, or spend some time at the level of the school board? (I know nothing about school boards, except that we pay taxes for it, I think there are elections and public assemblies).

To be more specific, a few days after school started, I find out that the titulaire is on sick leave for an undetermined time, and that the teacher my daughter is getting used to is just temporary. She has worked at the school before, and is applying for the official replacement position, but the directrice claims the decision will be made by the school board after having respected all processes such as convention collective des enseignantes based on seniority (not stability for the children or the directrice having a preference to keep a teacher she knows and claims is good).

I find out from a neighbour that that titulaire has been missing a while and I wonder why the official replacement contract hasn't been opened before. Then the directrice announces that the contract went not to the teacher with experience at that school (who has a name like Françoise which makes one think she has a few years up her belt though I never met her), but to somebody who just graduated. If the titulaire comes back, my daughter will have had 3 teachers this year.

I wouldn't have said anything, but this is our second year at the school and the second year my daughter has no stability in teachers. In maternelle, first she was told she'd get a certain teacher but there had been a mistake and she later got another one. Then her titulaire announced her retirement in November. But she didn't retire, she continued to work at the school as a sub, she just abandoned her group. How is that allowed to happen? Retirement should definitely be allowed anytime, but a change in position should coincide with school years! There was a slew of temporary subs, then the titulaire position was given to a teacher who soon left on mat leave, then another series of subs until the official replacement contract was given to a 3rd teacher.

I'm trying to make sense of it all and wondering where I would get answers, or if this group has a better knowledge than I do about how things are run? And how could things be different, or where could they be different?

Thank you for your insight!

[Amelie Bergeron-Vachon]

I want to add that every question I have asked the directrice has been answered by "I don't have any control over this, it's the school board (sometimes ministère de l'éducation)'s decision." Is that true? Are school principals really just pawns for bureaucracy to do its thing through them?  I'm trying to figure out this directrice and I just don't know enough about how the system works.