Parents to file injunction against EMSB over restructuring of parents committee

A group of parents says it will file a court injunction against the English Montreal School Board in an effort to stop the board from restructuring its parents committee.

In February, the EMSB's parents committee got 26 new members after the board's eastern and western regions were merged.

A group of about 35 parents are challenging that move, alleging it was strictly a political decision made to bolster the EMSB's opposition to Bill 86 – proposed legislation which would abolish school board elections.

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"Some of the new members that are being brought into the fray, for some reason or another, tend to support the status quo and that is potentially a very difficult situation to be in should a bill be adopted," said Andrew Ross, a spokesman for Parents for a Democratic EMSB – the group filing the injunction.

Ross also said the EMSB did not properly consult parents before restructuring the committee.

"The way that council has imposed a structure on us, it does not function well and we want to make sure that we can [return] it to the way that it did function and make sure that our democratic processes continue to be respected," he said.

EMSB stands by restructuring

The EMSB said it went through due process for the restructuring and it's standing by the change.

Joanne Charron, a parent commissioner, said she supports the new committee.

"How could it be undemocratic when every representative from every school sits on that committee and has a right to vote?," Charron said, adding that the old committee simply wasn't working.

"They were dysfunctional before they created the larger committee and couldn't get through an agenda before," Charron said.