While several parent committees at English school boards across the province have cut ties with the federation that represents them, the parent committee at the Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) is staying put – for now.
Citing a lack of English-language services, parent groups at six of Quebec’s nine English school boards have recently left the Quebec Federation of Parents’ Committees.
The ETSB’s Central Parents Committee recently passed a motion to stay on with the federation and plans to better utilize the services they offer.
Catherine Dolloff, the ETSB parent commissioner, said the current parent committee is a younger group and leaving the federation now “would have been a drastic move.”
“(The federation) sent us a letter wanting to find out what our needs were,” Dolloff said. “They showed good faith.”
Another ETSB parent representative, Cindy Powell, has recently joined the federation’s board of directors as the English services representative, potentially giving the ETSB better access, Dolloff added.
It was the federation’s previous English services committee that recommended English parent committees disaffiliate from the federation, which receives just over $800,000 in government funding – 11 per cent of which comes from the anglophone subsidy.
The six school boards that opted out include the English Montreal School Board (EMSB), Riverside, New Frontiers, Western Quebec and Sir Wilfrid-Laurier.
Colleen Carosello, a parent committee representative from the English Montreal board, said the federation’s structure didn’t allow for proper communication.
“Over the past two years, it’s been a heated discussion and we didn’t feel like we were being heard,” Carosello told The Record. “It seemed that the meat and potatoes were only available in French.”
At the federation’s most recent annual conference, Carosello said that only two of 12 workshops were available in English.
Since breaking off from the federation, a new English parent committees association has formed regrouping the six that left, who are currently in talks with the Quebec ministry of education to access their share of funding.
An English parents committee association last operated in Quebec over 20 years ago, until 1986, when it merged with its francophone counterpart to create the Quebec federation of parents’ committees.
The federation’s president, François Paquet, said he is disappointed to see so many parent committees leave.
“I think we have a lot to learn from the English community,” Paquet said. “By sharing our experiences, we can both win.
“But some people think another way and that is a democratic decision.”
Paquet said the majority of staff and volunteers at the federation are bilingual and will continue to work with the remaining parent committees.
“As long as there are parent committees under us, we’re going to give them the same level of services,” he said. “In the end, our best interests are in the education of youth, regardless of whether they’re English or French.”
Carosello said that she wouldn’t be surprised to see the ETSB parent committee join the new English Parents Committee Association in the future.
“But either way, we feel we can continue to work towards the common goal,” she said. “We’re here to represent all English parents.”

By Sarah Rogers
Sherbrooke

2009-06-30