Education Assistance Act

Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Education Assistance Act. R.S., c. 137, s. 1.

Interpretation

2 In this Act,

(a) "budget" means a statement of the amounts of estimated revenues and expenditures in the form prescribed by this Act;

(b) "capital program" means the construction, improvement and alteration of school buildings and related facilities required or permitted to be provided under the Education Act or any other enactment and includes the charges for indebtedness in relation to school buildings and related facilities but does not include anything included in a school program;

(c) "Committee" means the Education Assistance Committee established under this Act;

(d) "fiscal year" means the calendar year;

(e) "Minister" means the Minister of Education;

(f) "municipal council" means the council of a municipal unit;

(g) "municipal unit" means a municipality to which the Municipal Act applies, a city or a town;

(h) "school board" includes a district school board or a board of school commissioners established under the Education Act;

(i) "school program" means all the educational programs and the activities and personnel that a school board is required or permitted to provide under the Education Act. R.S., c. 137, s. 2.

Financial assistance

3 (1) Financial assistance may be granted under this Act to a school board or municipal unit in accordance with an order of the Minister made under Section 7 in lieu of making a grant under the Education Act and in lieu of all other financial assistance that may be granted to a school board or municipal unit by the Province in respect of education.

Effect of order under Section 7

(2) When an order is made by the Minister under Section 7 respecting financial assistance for a school board or municipal unit, the right to any grant or financial assistance under the Education Act or by the Province in respect of education shall be extinguished unless the Minister otherwise orders. R.S., c. 137, s. 3.

Education Assistance Committee

4 (1) There shall be a committee composed of the Deputy Minister of Education and four or more persons appointed by the Minister to be known as the Education Assistance Committee.

Officers

(2) The Deputy Minister of Education shall be the chairman of the Committee and shall designate another member of the Committee to be secretary and executive officer of the Committee.

Duty of Committee

(3) The Committee shall review and consider every budget submitted to the Minister under this Act, having regard to the provisions of the Education Act and other enactments respecting school programs and capital programs and the grants provided for these programs, and shall make a recommendation to the Minister concerning the amount of financial assistance that should be granted to a school board or municipal unit submitting a budget.

Condition for assistance

(4) No financial assistance shall be granted under this Act to a school board in respect of all or any part of a school program or to a municipal unit in respect of all or any part of a capital program unless the school program or capital program was included in a budget submitted under this Act, reviewed by the Committee and included in an order of the Minister.

Withholding assistance

(5) Financial assistance may be withheld from a school board or municipal unit until the school board or municipal unit complies with this Act. R.S., c. 137, s. 4.

Budget for school program

5 (1) Every school board shall for each fiscal year prepare a budget for the school program and submit the budget to the Minister before the first day of November preceding the fiscal year.

Form and content

(2) The budget shall be prepared in the form prescribed by the Minister for school boards and shall contain all revenue and all items of expenditure for or in respect of each item in the school program and the total expenditure for the school program and shall indicate the extent to which expenditures are caused by programs introduced, extended or expanded in the fiscal year.

Appended information

(3) The budget of a school board shall have appended the information required by the Minister including a forecast of the budget for the fiscal years following the fiscal year to which the budget relates.

Financial statement

(4) Every school board shall prepare and submit to the Minister before the first day of April in each year a statement in the form prescribed by the Minister of all revenue and expenditures for the last fiscal year. R.S., c. 137, s. 5.

Budget for capital program

6 (1) Every municipal council shall for each fiscal year prepare a budget for the capital program and submit the budget to the Minister before the first day of November preceding the fiscal year.

Form and content

(2) The budget shall be prepared in the form prescribed by the Minister for municipal units and shall contain all revenue and all items of expenditure for or in respect of each item in the capital program and the total expenditure for the capital program and shall indicate the extent to which expenditures are caused by matters introduced, extended or expanded in the fiscal year.

Appended information

(3) The budget of a municipal unit shall have appended the information required by the Minister including a forecast of the budget for the fiscal years following the fiscal year to which the budget relates.

Financial statement

(4) Every municipal council shall prepare and submit to the Minister before the first day of April in each year a statement, in the form prescribed by the Minister, of all revenues and expenditures relating to the capital program for the last fiscal year. R.S., c. 137, s. 6.

Review by Committee

7 (1) The Committee shall review each budget submitted to the Minister and may seek and obtain advice or assistance from an inspector of schools or any specialists, consultants or other persons.

Factors considered

(2) Before making a recommendation to the Minister, the Committee shall consider the total amount of the budget and each item in it and may determine the amount of financial assistance to be recommended on the basis of the budget or on the basis of a reduction of the budget or the reduction or elimination of items in the budget.

Restrictions on recommendation

(3) The Committee shall not recommend an amount that is not

(a) sufficient to permit the continuance of the Foundation Program under the Education Act provided by a school board on the date on which this Act comes into force;

(b) equal to the greater of twenty-five per cent of the total of the items mentioned in clause (a) of subsection (5) or the percentage of these items that would be determined as the provincial proportion under Section 44 of the Education Act.

Opportunity to appear

(4) No recommendation shall be made on the basis of a determination that involves a reduction in the budget or the reduction or elimination of items in the budget unless the school board or municipal council is given an opportunity to appear before the Committee.

Content of recommendation

(5) The recommendation that is made to the Minister by the Committee shall contain a statement of the amount of financial assistance that should be granted under this Act and shall specify

(a) in the case of a budget of a school board, the items of the school program in respect of which the Province is obligated to contribute by virtue of the Education Act and which are approved by the Committee, whether as submitted or as reduced, in this Act called "approved shareable items"; and

(b) in the case of the budget of a municipal unit, the items of the capital budget in respect of which the Province is obligated to contribute by virtue of the Education Act and which are approved by the Committee, whether as submitted or as reduced, in this Act called "approved capital items".

Order by Minister

(6) When the Minister receives the recommendation of the Committee in respect of a budget, he shall by order determine

(a) in the case of a budget of a school board, the amount of the approved shareable items in the budget and the amount of the financial assistance under this Act;

(b) in the case of a budget of a municipal unit, the amount of the approved capital items and the amount of financial assistance under this Act,

and the Minister shall transmit a copy of the order to the school board and the municipal council affected by the order.

Application of assistance

(7) The financial assistance granted under this Act in accordance with an order of the Minister shall be used by the school board only for or in respect of the approved shareable items and by a municipal unit only for or in respect of the approved capital items as stated in the order of the Minister. R.S., c. 137, s. 7.

Approved shareable items

8 (1) In the case of a budget of a school board, the total amount of the approved shareable items, after deducting all revenues including the amount of the financial assistance as determined in the order of the Minister, shall be provided to the school board by the municipal unit or units in accordance with the enactments or agreements governing the school board or municipal unit or units.

Approved capital items

(2) In the case of a budget of a municipal unit, the amount of the approved capital items after deducting all applicable revenues including the financial assistance as determined in the order of the Minister shall be provided by the municipal unit in accordance with the enactments or agreements governing the municipal unit and any additional amounts may be provided by the municipal unit to the extent that the municipal unit is required or permitted by law.

Additional funds

(3) Nothing in this Act precludes a municipal unit from providing additional funds to a school board for programs for which the school board may expend funds. R.S., c. 137, s. 8.

Assistance for capital item

9 (1) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, in the case of a district school board which by virtue of an amalgamation agreement or otherwise is charged with items of expenditure which are usually included in a capital program of a municipal unit, financial assistance may be granted on the basis of a budget for a school program or a capital program prepared and submitted by the district school board and the provisions of this Act shall apply mutatis mutandis to the review by the Committee and the order of the Minister.

Contribution agreement

(2) When financial assistance is granted under this Act to a district school board pursuant to subsection (1) and no provision has been made in an enactment or agreement for payment or contribution by the municipal units involved, the Minister and the municipal units may agree upon the manner in which the payment or contribution will be provided and such an agreement shall have the force of law. R.S., c. 137, s. 9.

Regulations

10 The Governor in Council may make regulations governing any matter arising under this Act, for the effective administration of this Act or for the purpose of carrying out the intention of this Act and such regulations shall have the force of law as though enacted as a part of this Act. R.S., c. 137, s. 10.

Conflict

11 In the event of a conflict between any provision of this Act or the regulations and any provision of any other general or special Act, the provision of this Act and the regulations shall govern. R.S., c. 137, s. 11.