Education Minister Yves Bolduc is sorely disappointed with the turnout for the school board elections.

While more than 20 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots for anglophone boards in Montreal, across Quebec that number was much lower

"In the regions and with the English school boards it was higher, but the average was around 5 per cent," said Bolduc.

The day after the vote, Bolduc said the status quo cannot stand, and there must be wholesale change to how schools are run in Quebec.

He did not explain what exactly would happen to school boards, but said that whatever decisions were to be made would respect the constitutional right of anglophones to manage their own educational system and be educated in their language.

"We’re going to take a look at it and we’re going to respect the constitutional right.

"We want the anglophones to have their own institutions but we can do it with the new governance that we’re going to put in place but I cannot give you details today because we don’t have the details," said Bolduc, but did say all boards would face some sort of overhaul. “We're going to have the same rules for the French and the English boards.”

At this point Bolduc said all possibilities are on the table, but his focus will be on decentralizing power to teachers and reducing bureaucracy.

"I will be working with the newly-elected members to streamline and make their structures more efficient, more effective, and more transparent," said Bolduc.

Shoestring budgets

“Before the education minister talks he should get informed,” said newly re-elected chair for the Lester B. Pearson board Suanne Stein Day. “He does not know what happened out here on the streets.”

The board was obliged to run its election on a shoe-string, using money from its operating budget, she said.

Stein Day said boards had set aside money for the election but Quebec prevented them from using it, and the province contributed no money to the election.

That led to understaffing.

“In some cases there was only one table and three people involved,” Stein Day said.

That led to delays, frustration and some people leaving without voting.

The other major problem was the incomplete voters’ list managed by the province's Director General of Elections.

“Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of English-speaking community members were denied the right to vote because of an inadequate and unacceptable voters’ list,” said the Quebec English School Boards Association President David D'Aoust

English boards satisfied with turnout

While the Education Minister was announcing what appeared to be the imminent demise of school boards in Quebec, the head of the Quebec English School Boards Association was praising the turnout.

While the education minister was announcing what appeared to be the imminent demise of school boards in Quebec, the head of the Quebec English School Boards Association was praising the turnout, despite voting delays and issues.

With 50,000 votes cast among the English school boards, D'Aoust said the boards had more voters than they expected.

"We expect to work collaboratively with the government to find improved and more efficient ways to deliver educational services to students of all ages," said D'Aoust.

"Neither the QESBA nor any of its member boards are against improving the quality of the programs that our schools deliver," he said.