Free schools
5 (1) All public schools established or conducted pursuant to this Act are free schools.
(2) Subject to this Act and the regulations and notwithstanding the Age of Majority Act, every person over the age of five years and under the age of twenty-one years has the right to attend a public school serving the school district or school region in which that person resides, as assigned by the school board.
(3) A school board may, in accordance with the regulations, admit foreign students and, notwithstanding subsection (1), fees may be charged to such students as prescribed by the regulations. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 5.
School regions and regional school boards
7 (1) The Governor in Council may designate a geographic area of the Province as a school region.
(2) The Governor in Council may establish a regional school board to administer the public schools in a school region.
(3) Each regional school board is a body corporate under the name determined by the Governor in Council.
(4) The Governor in Council may alter the boundaries of a school region.
(5) The Governor in Council may annex the whole or any part of a school district or school region to another school region.
(6) Notwithstanding subsections (1) to (5), there shall be at least seven school boards. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 7.
Consequences of establishing a board
8 Upon the establishment of a regional school board for a school region,
(a) existing school boards in the school region, other than the Conseil acadien, are dissolved;
(b) notwithstanding Section 42 and clause 46(2)(f), the members of the dissolved school boards are members of the regional school board pending the next election of school board members;
(c) the assets and liabilities of the dissolved school boards are vested in the regional school board, including all employee benefits and entitlements;
(d) the vesting of any assets of the dissolved school boards in the regional school board does not void any policy of insurance with respect to any of the assets, including any public liability policy, and the regional school board is deemed to be the insured party for the purpose of such policy;
(e) the regional school board is substituted for a dissolved school board with respect to any agreement to which the dissolved school board was a party;
(f) all persons employed by the dissolved school boards become employees of the regional school board, the employment and seniority with the dissolved board of each employee is deemed to be employment and seniority with the regional school board and the continuity of employment and seniority is not broken;
(g) the regional school board is a successor employer for the purpose of the Pension Benefits Act;
(h) the regional school board shall continue to pay any pension or annuity, being paid by a dissolved school board, according to its terms; and
(i) notwithstanding clauses (c) and (f), Section 71 of the Labour Standards Code does not apply to a period of employment with a district school board. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 8.
Terms of employment
9 (1) For greater certainty, a regional school board is a transferee for the purpose of Section 31 of the Trade Union Act and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
(a) the regional school board is bound by successor rights as determined pursuant to the Trade Union Act and the Teachers' Collective Bargaining Act; and
(b) subject to the Trade Union Act and the Teachers' Collective Bargaining Act, the regional school board and the employees, who are covered by collective agreements, of a district school board are bound by the collective agreement as if the regional school board were a party to them.
(2) The Public Sector Compensation (1994-97) Act applies to a regional school board and members and employees of the board except that, notwithstanding subsection 3(4) of that Act,
(a) Section 23 of that Act does not apply;
(b) the Labour Relations Board may exercise all of its powers under the Teachers' Collective Bargaining Act or the Trade Union Act but the total effect of any changes to collective agreements shall not increase the total cost of all compensation in respect of all employees to whom the collective agreements changed apply and the pay rates, as defined by the Public Sector Compensation (1994-97) Act, are not more than permitted by that Act; and
(c) no change shall be made in a collective agreement without the approval of the Labour Relations Board in accordance with clause (b).
(3) For greater certainty, subsection (2) does not confer any additional powers on the Labour Relations Board with respect to persons to whom the Teachers' Collective Bargaining Act applies except as provided by that Act.
(4) Where the Labour Relations Board, in applying subsection (1) or (2), determines that those employees, of the regional school board, who were not previously included in a bargaining unit of a district school board are to be included in a bargaining unit of the regional school board, those employees are deemed to have seniority credits with the regional school board equal to the employment service they had with the district school board.
(5) The right of an employee of a district school board to employment with a regional school board in a bargaining unit position is not affected by whether that employee was previously employed pursuant to a collective agreement and the employee is deemed to have seniority credits with the regional school board equal to the employee's service with the district school board.
(6) In subsections (4) and (5), "employee" means an employee as defined in Section 2 of the Trade Union Act but, for greater certainty, does not include those described in subsection 2(2) of that Act.
(7) The Labour Relations Board may exercise its powers pursuant to this Section upon the Governor in Council making the order establishing the school region.
(8) Where, in the opinion of the Minister of Labour, the workload of the Labour Relations Board requires additional members, the Governor in Council may, in addition to the Vice-chair appointed pursuant to subsection 16(4) of the Trade Union Act, appoint additional members and vice-chairs to the Labour Relations Board for such period of time as is set out in the appointment.
(9) An appointment pursuant to subsection (8) does not increase the quorum of the Labour Relations Board. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 9 .
Superintendents
10 (1) There shall be a superintendent for each regional school board and the Conseil acadien.
(2) The superintendent and each assistant superintendent of a regional school board and the Conseil acadien shall be chosen from all interested candidates
(a) through an open and unrestricted competition; and
(b) strictly on the basis of merit, including educational qualifications, professional experience, personal qualities and general ability to discharge the responsibilities of the office.
(3) Nothing in this Section affects the status of a superintendent or assistant superintendent under a collective agreement in effect when this Act comes into force. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 10.
Dissolution of Southwest Regional School Board
10A (1) The Southwest Regional School Board is dissolved.
(2) The South Shore Regional School Board is established to administer the public schools in the school region composed of Lunenburg County, Queens County and that part of the former school region administered by the former Southwest Regional School Board in Annapolis County and the Tri-County Regional School Board is established to administer the public schools in the school region composed of Digby County, Shelburne County and Yarmouth County.
(3) The employees, assets and liabilities of the South Shore District School Board as of July 31, 2004, are the employees, assets and liabilities of the South Shore Regional School Board and, for greater certainty, employees of the South Shore District School Board employed on July 31, 2004, are entitled to the same salary and benefits as employees of the South Shore Regional School Board.
(4) The employees, assets and liabilities of the Tri-County District School Board as of July 31, 2004, are the employees, assets and liabilities of the Tri-County Regional School Board and, for greater certainty, employees of the Tri-County District School Board employed on July 31, 2004, are entitled to the same salary and benefits as employees of the Tri-County Regional School Board.
(5) For greater certainty, Sections 7 to 9 apply mutatis mutandis to this Section. 2004, c. 3, s. 16.
Employees, assets and liabilities
10B (1) The employees, assets and liabilities of the Southwest Regional School Board, including the Provincial funding allocation, shall be allocated between the South Shore Regional School Board and the Tri-County Regional School Board as determined by the Governor in Council.
(2) For greater certainty, employees of the Southwest Regional School Board employed on July 31, 2004, are entitled to the same salary and benefits as employees of the South Shore Regional School Board or the Tri-County Regional School Board, respectively.
(3) For greater certainty, Sections 8 and 9 apply mutatis mutandis to this Section. 2004, c. 3, s. 16.
Officials
10C (1) The appointments of the Chief Executive Officer of the Southwest Regional School Board, the Director of Education of the South Shore District School Board and the Director of Education of the Tri-County District School Board are revoked effective July 31, 2004.
(2) Notwithstanding any enactment, contract or policy of a school board, any employment contract relating to a person referred to in subsection (1) is null and void as of July 31, 2004, and, for greater certainty, no compensation or damages shall be paid pursuant to such contract or policy after that date.
(3) No person referred to in subsection (1) has a cause of action with respect to the revocation of that person's appointment pursuant to subsection (1). 2004, c. 3, s. 16.
Superintendents of successor regional school boards
10D (1) Before August 1, 2004, the South Shore District School Board and the Tri-County District School Board shall each choose a person to be appointed the superintendent of their respective successor regional school board.
(2) When choosing a person pursuant to subsection (1), the district school board shall follow the procedure set out in subsection 10(2) and clause 64(2)(m) applies. 2004, c. 3, s. 16.
Membership of successor regional school boards
10E The number of members of the school board and the number and boundaries of the electoral districts in the school district for the South Shore District School Board and the Tri-County District School Board, as determined by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, are the number of members and the number and boundaries of electoral districts for the South Shore Regional School Board and the Tri-County Regional School Board, respectively. 2004, c. 3, s. 16.
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