Questions frequently asked of CSBA:

What does CSBA do?
CSBA advocates excellence in public education and promotes the value of locally elected school boards through collaboration, research and information sharing with partner organizations.

How many school boards are there in Canada?
The number of school boards varies as boards amalgamate and reorganize, however, there are currently approximately 489 school boards in Canada.

What are school boards and what do they do?
School boards consist of locally elected representatives called trustees.  

Education is the responsibility of the provincial governments – they decide what school boards do, how they get their money and how much local autonomy they have.  For this reason, the role of trustees in different provinces is slightly variable.  However, in most provinces, trustees set and administer an annual budget; hire, promote and dismiss teachers and administrators; set local school policies; build schools; and purchase supplies.

How does education in Canada work?
Please see Education in Canada.

We are moving; where can I get information about my child’s schooling?
The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, has a student transfer guide for secondary students.  It can be found at http://www.cmec.ca/tguide/1998/english/
 
For both elementary and secondary students you can request information from the school board where you will be moving.  For a list of school boards in Canada, you can use one of the following links:

http://www.cepan.ca/imaps/bsites.htm

http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/~mpress/eduweb/edboards.html

Or visit the provincial association’s or provincial government’s website