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Overview
District Education Councils (DECs) were first established in 2001 to provide local governance and community input into the education system. DECs use a policy governance model and, as such, set and monitor the policies on objectives to be carried out by the district staff and local schools. Each DEC must work within the policies and standards of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD). DECs develop objectives and policies to address the priorities and needs of their district.
In the Anglophone West School District (ASD-W), there are 13 elected Councillors (one for each Sub-district) as established under the Education Act, who serve for a four-year term. Additionally, the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development will appoint a First Nations Councillor, who will also serve for a four-year term, and a Student Councillor, who will serve for a one-year term.
Meeting Schedule – 2025-2026 School Year
The ASD-W District Education Council will hold public meetings monthly on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. at the District Office on the following dates:
- September 25, 2025
- October 23, 2025
- November 20, 2025
- December 11, 2025
- January 22, 2026
- February 19, 2026
- March 19, 2026
- April 23, 2026
- May 21, 2026
- June 22, 2026
Meeting Documents
Current school year
September 2025
October 2025
November 2025
December 2025
January 2026
February 2026
March 2026
April 2026
May 2026
June 2026
Previous school years
Meeting dates, agendas, and minutes from previous years are available online in the DEC meeting archives.
Responsibilities of the District Education Council
- Hire, direct and establish limits for the Superintendent (their sole employee);
- Establish governance policy;
- Assist in the development and subsequent monitoring of the District Plan (3-year plan);
- Set district policy within the framework of provincial policy;
- Review district performance reports and make them public;
- Review School Improvement Plans and school performance reports for each school in the district;
- Ensure the Superintendent follows provincial policies and procedures;
- Have management, care and control of school property;
- Monitor budget and expended funds (district expenditure plan);
- Facilitate community use of schools;
- Initiate school establishment and closures;
- Maintain linkages with Parent School Support Committees and the community;
- Monitor trust fund expenditures;
- Review the Superintendent’s performance on an annual basis;
- Identify capital construction project and capital improvement project priorities.
The District Education Council does not:
- • Establish the school calendar or curriculum
- • Set provincial education standards
- • Develop provincial budgets
- • Intervene in daily operations of the school district, for which the responsibility is mandated to the Superintendent
Parents/Guardians Communication Process
Please follow the procedures below, in order, if you have questions about your child’s school:
- Contact the person or school where there is a question e.g. Classroom Teacher
- Contact the person’s immediate supervisor e.g. School Principal
- Contact the District Office e.g. Director of Schools
- Contact the Superintendent
- Contact the Sub-district District Education Councillor
- Contact the Chairperson of the District Education Council
Council Membership and Assigned School Monitoring
Public Participation at DEC Meetings
Procedures for public participation at DEC meetings are established to encourage public participation in an open and respectful manner.
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- The Chairperson will allocate 15 minutes at the end of the meeting for questions/comments by members of the public present.
- Members of the public with questions are asked to raise their hands so that the chairperson may acknowledge them.
- The chairperson will maintain a speaker’s list, based upon the sign-in register, for the purposes of accurately recording meeting participation and for follow-up communication.
- Questions will be directed to the chairperson and answered through the chairperson.
- The chairperson has the option of increasing the allotment of time if he/she deems it necessary.
- There shall be no question of a confidential nature concerning specific students or schools, school personnel, or district personnel.
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- If a group or member of the public wishes the DEC to discuss a matter or make a presentation, the member should write a letter to the chairperson explaining the topic. This letter must be received at least two weeks prior to the regular DEC meeting.
- The chairperson will determine the appropriateness of the request. If the request to present is accepted, the applicant will be informed of the time and place for the presentation.
- A legible copy of the presentation must be provided to the chairperson at least 10 days before the presentation date, so that councillors may review it.
- Any technology requirements for the presentation must also be disclosed at the time of submission.
- There are to be no more than two spokespersons per presentation, and the time allocation for the presentation—including questions—will be limited to 15 minutes.
No decision or recommendation from the Council should be expected on the day of the presentation. The Council will release its decision at a subsequent public meeting or by written correspondence to the presenters.
Role of the Superintendent
The Superintendent is employed by the DEC to manage the day-to-day decisions and administration of the school district. The Superintendent is the only employee of the DEC and is accountable to the DEC for the performance of the district. Every year, the DEC completes a formal performance review of the Superintendent.