Responsibilities of School Board Trustees in PEI

Elected trustees for the Public Schools Branch (PSB) and the Commission scolaire de langue française (CSLF) are responsible for governance and oversight, not daily operations. Their key areas include:

Governance & Oversight

1. Approving budgets and financial plans: Trustees review and approve how funds are allocated within the board’s overall provincial funding envelope.
2. Policy development: Setting policies for areas like student safety, code of conduct, equity, and inclusion.
3. Strategic planning: Providing direction on long-term educational priorities, facilities use, and school improvement goals.
4. Accountability: Representing the public and ensuring transparency in how education services are delivered.

Representation

1. Community voice: Trustees act as a bridge between parents, communities, and the school system.
2. Advocacy: They can advocate to the Minister of Education for changes to funding models, infrastructure investments, or new initiatives (e.g., pushing for playground funding).

Oversight Areas

1. Facilities: Reviewing capital planning proposals, approving requests for repairs, renovations, or expansions (though major funding comes from the province).
2. Human resources policies: Approving staffing policies, though they do not manage individual personnel decisions.
3. Student services: Ensuring policies support transportation, special education, safe schools, and wellness programs.

 Areas Trustees Cannot Directly Influence

While trustees play an important governance role, there are clear limits:

 

1. Provincial Budget Size: Trustees cannot increase or decrease the total amount of money allocated to education in PEI — this is set by the provincial government through the Department of Education and Early Years.
2. Taxation or Revenue: Trustees cannot levy taxes or raise funds directly.
3. Individual School Operations: Day-to-day decisions (classroom assignments, staffing at a particular school, maintenance schedules) are handled by administrators and principals.
4. Curriculum: Trustees do not decide what is taught in classrooms; curriculum is set by the province.
5. Major Capital Projects: Building new schools, large-scale renovations, or system-wide infrastructure spending must be approved and funded by the provincial government. Trustees can only recommend or advocate.

In Summary

1. Trustees control governance, policy, budget priorities, and community representation.
2. They cannot control how much total money education gets, tax policy, or curriculum.
3. Their real power lies in advocacy and making sure provincial funding decisions reflect local needs.

 

What Trustees CAN Do…	What Trustees CANNOT Do…
Approve budgets and financial plans	Increase or decrease the total education budget
Set board policies on items like safety, equity, conduct	Levy taxes or raise revenue
Provide strategic direction and long-term planning	Manage daily school operations
Represent parents and communities	Decide on curriculum, textbooks, lessons
Advocate to the Minister for funding or policy changes	Hire/fire individual teachers or staff
Oversee facilities planning, HR policies and student services	Approve large capital projects without provincial approval

 

School Board Trustee Elections in PEI

• Elections for Public Schools Branch (PSB) and Commission scolaire de langue française (CSLF) trustees are administered by Elections PEI. The 2025 school board trustee elections are scheduled for October 17, 2025.
• Trustees serve on independent boards overseeing the delivery of public education in English (PSB) and French (CSLF).
• Elections are held every three years (most recently in 2022) and include nomination periods, voter registration (online and mail-in), and the voting window.
• https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/sites/default/files/publications/psb_appointment_-_role_of_trustee.pdf

 

Responsibilities of Elected Trustees

According to provincial sources, elected trustees—that is, school board members—are responsible for several key governance areas:

• Approving budgets and overseeing financial planning and operations.
• Providing strategic direction, policy development, and ensuring school safety and facility maintenance.
• Representing the interests of students, families, and communities in educational decision-making.
  

Further details from a public consultation report highlight the specific areas of trustee responsibility:

• The PSB Board’s mandate includes strategic direction, policy-setting, and particularly approving the budget and operations.
• Trustees are accountable to students, parents, the community, and the Minister of Education.
• Areas under trustee oversight include finance and facilities, general administration, human resources, student transportation, and school safety (among others).

Right now in PEI (and in much of Canada), playground equipment is not typically funded through the regular public school capital or operating budgets. Instead, it is almost always funded through Home & School Associations, parent fundraising, and community donations, sometimes with municipal or provincial grant support. This is why you see parents and community members needing to raise tens of thousands of dollars for new playgrounds.

Can school board trustees change this?

School board trustees in PEI do have influence, but there are limits:

What trustees can do:

• Advocate: Trustees can bring forward motions at board meetings asking the board to prioritize playgrounds in budget planning.
• Approve budgets: Since trustees approve the board’s annual budget, they can push for a portion of discretionary or capital funds to be earmarked for playgrounds.
• Policy setting: Trustees can direct the board to develop a policy on equitable access to playgrounds, which could shift the responsibility from parents to the system.
• Lobby the province: Since the PSB and CSLF operate with funding from the Department of Education and Early Years, trustees can formally advocate that playground equipment be recognized as part of school infrastructure and funded provincially.

What trustees cannot do directly:

• They don’t control the size of the overall provincial education budget—the Minister of Education and the Legislature set that.
• Large capital allocations (like new school construction, major renovations, or system-wide funding for playgrounds) generally require provincial government approval.

So in practice:

• A trustee cannot unilaterally decide to allocate playground funding.
• But if enough trustees support the idea, the school board could pass a motion to include playground infrastructure in its budget priorities or submit it as a formal funding request to the provincial government.
• Real change would likely require a policy shift at the provincial level, prompted by trustee advocacy, strong community pressure, and alignment with government priorities (e.g., child health, equity, accessibility).