tive personnel for the future school board, etc. The school trustees will be a major factor in the “construction”. These trustees, appointed by the Minister of Education, will be the mainstay of the Transitional School Board. With the children’s well- being in mind, they will provide directions and guidelines in accordance with the public school system's mission. These appointed trustees, who will be respon- sible for the development of the new francophone school board, may be compared to contractors who deal with providing materials as well as plumbing or electric systems. Once the Francophone School Board in place (September 1995), the trustees will be elected through the usual electoral process. Only francophones and persons having acquired rights under Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms will have the right to vote and to be elected. Elections could be called from 1995 on. According to the proposed provincial model, trustees will be representative of all regions of the province (see Organization chart). BUILDING IN PROGRESS The basic principles and recommendations of the Minority Language Education Task Force Report will be the achitects’ guidelines. These GVFV : Greater Vancouver/Fraser Valley GVFV fe ove | a ove | | GVFV Vancouver seed i ae COUNCIL COUNCIL ETE LLL da ie PARENTS PARENTS PARENTS PARENTS COMMITTEES COMMITTEES COMMITTEES Currently 10 PCDF Currently 7 PCDF Currently 3 PCDF Currently 3 PCDF According tothe proposed model, in 1995, the Francophone School Board would consist of nine trustees. The territory wouldbe divided into 9 wards, each of them represented by an elected trustee. Four trustees would represent Greater Vancouver-Fraser Valley; two will represent Vancouver Island North and South; one trustee will represent Okanagan Valley-Columbia; onewill represent North-East SPECIAL EDITION FRANCOPHONE SCHOOL GOVERNANCE jung 1993 FRANCOPHONE SCHOOL BOARD 9 TRUSTEES principles are consistent with the mission of the BC school system: “The purpose of the BC school system is to enable learners to develop their . individual potential and to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to contribute to a healthy society and a prosperous and sustain- able economy.” To provide for the specific needs of minority language education, the Task Force added to the “mission statement” the following: “‘ A francophone educational program is a public education program within this system, carried out in French, except for English Language Arts, and is intended to enable learners who qualify under Section 23 to achieve this public purpose while retaining their cultural identity...” The architects will have to draw the plans of the new francophone school board and to modify them as they go. These changes will have to be consistent with the mission statement of the British Columbia education system. It is thus possible to arrive at logical assumptions on how the Francophone School Board would operate. QUESTIONS: HOW MANY CHILDREN WILL ATTEND FRANCOPHONE SCHOOLS? Presently, province wide Programme cadre enrolment is 2,317 pupils. Organization chart Okanagan/ a North- Columbia West British Columbia and another North-West Bristish Columbia. Parents committees will beat the base of the structure. They willbe able tobring their needs and recommendations tothe trustees through a regional council. This council would meet regularly and be the link between parents and trustees.