Jody Carr redraws school district boundaries

Education Minister Jody Carr has redrawn the province’s seven new school district boundaries after receiving more than 500 submissions in the last month.

The Department of Education announced in January that it would slash the number of school districts to seven from 14. The move, Carr said, would save $5 million annually.

The boundaries have shifted to reflect the public feedback that it received.

The anglophone sector will be administered by four districts, while the francophone sector will have three districts under the new system.

There have also been more subdistricts added within the larger districts, according to the department. And each subdistrict will have a member on the District Education Council.

These elections will take place on May 14 with the rest of the municipal and regional health authority elections.

"As part of the transition process, there is a focus on strengthening links between parents involved at the school level and at the district education council level," said Carr.

"Further input and recommendations will be established to develop mechanisms to ensure the local voice has input into decisions."

New boundaries

The new anglophone sector districts include:

• the north district: Campbellton, Bathurst, Miramichi and Rexton regions 
• the south district: Sussex, Saint John and St. Stephen regions
• the east district: Dieppe and Moncton regions 
• the west district: Fredericton, Oromocto, Woodstock and Edmundston regions

The new francophone sector districts include:

• the south district: Miramichi, Rogersville, Saint-Louis-de-Kent, Dieppe, Moncton, Fredericton, Oromocto, Woodstock, Saint John and St. Stephen regions
• the northeast district: Campbellton, Bathurst and Acadian Peninsula regions
• the northwest district: Grand Falls, Edmundston, Saint-Quentin and Kedgwick regions

Revised boundaries

The largest change in the new boundaries came in the francophone system.

In the January proposal, communities such as Fredericton and Woodstock were in a district that included Edmundston and Campbellton.

Now, the southern district includes communities from Woodstock to Miramichi and south, including Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John.

There was also a small change in the anglophone system.

Rexton will now be in the northern region because of its common linkages with Miramichi. The January model had Rexton included in a district that included Moncton, Petitcodiac and Sackville.