Saskatchewan School Boards Association

The Saskatchewan School Boards Association, founded in 1915 under its former name of the Saskatchewan School Trustees Association, represents boards of education in the province. Boards of education, made up of elected trustees, are essential members of local government, ensuring the wishes of the community are reflected in its schools. A trustee works as part of a team; school boards make decisions that shape the education of the province's children, and the Association supports boards in this role. The Association and its members care about and fight for the needs of children, schools, and communities. Local, democratic control of education, combined with the Association's strong advocacy voice, ensures all students receive a quality education.

The Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to excellence in public education by providing leadership and services for all of the province's boards of education. The Association represents all school divisions - public, separate, and francophone - and reflects the rural, urban, and northern diversity of the province. Membership in the Association is voluntary and is open to school boards and First Nations education authorities. The Association is governed by a provincial executive that consists of: a president elected at an annual Convention; representatives elected from seven branches or regions of the province; a Catholic section representative; an urban public boards caucus representative; a rural representative; an Aboriginal representative; and a representative from the Conseil scolaire fransaskois.

Members of the executive act as advocates for education, addressing local and provincial issues; they also represent the Association on many working groups involved in education and local government. Association staff supports the Executive and boards in their roles as advocates, and helps to ensure effective two-way communication among member boards, the executive, the education community, and the community at large. Much time is spent working with government and opposition MLAs, senior officials, other local governments, partners in education, agencies, and other bodies that can or do have an impact on school boards and publicly funded education in Saskatchewan. A large portion of the work is representative in nature and reflects the desire of school boards to have the Association act as an advocate for school boards in the service of children.

The Association also provides many direct services to boards, such as trustee education and board development, administrator development, legal services, employee relations, education and research, communications, and an insurance plan and an employee benefits plan.

Ardith Stephanson