Court of Appeal set to hear school closure arguments

One of the pillars of the Gallant government's cost-cutting efforts goes under the judicial microscope today.

Three justices of the New Brunswick Court of Appeal will hear arguments about whether a lower-court judge should have quashed the education minister's decision to allow the closure of two Saint John-area schools.

Last month, Justice Darrell Stephenson of the Court of Queen's Bench says the consultation process for Brown's Flat Elementary School and Lorne Middle School was flawed.

Under the department's policy 409, a District Education Council must hold three public meetings and must provide "an account" to the public before it votes to close a school.

In a ruling Aug. 28, Stephenson quashed Education Minister Serge Rousselle's approval of the Anglophone South DEC's decision to close Brown's Flat and Lorne.

He interpreted the phrase "an account" to mean the DEC must provide reasons, something he said it hadn't done. The provincial government argues only the minister has the power to assess whether the DEC process followed the policy.

The outcome of today's hearing could be far-reaching.

Supporters of the Coles Island School, which also closed this year, say they may use the Stephenson ruling to try to overturn their DEC's decision.

And 28 other schools around New Brunswick will be subject to closure studies by DECs in the coming year.

So while Stephenson's ruling, and today's appeal, deal only with the specific facts of the Browns Flat and Lorne decisions, the eventual ruling could provide parents at other schools with a roadmap of how to challenge Policy 409 closures — or could show the government how to insulate itself from those legal challenges.

The two-hour hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. The court may not rule today.