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Revised (Nov 19 2008)
History of trusteeship
We have been choosing representatives to govern our local schools for longer than Canada has been a nation. Locally elected boards of education existed in what is now Canada prior to Confederation. Boards of education were founded in North America more than a century ago to provide universal free education and to educate children and young adults as equals within a democratic society.
A new Canadian standard was set on February 16, 1905 when 20 school trustees representing eight boards met at the Vancouver School Board office to discuss common problems and ways to improve public education. They made a commitment to work together on matters of shared concern, and formed the BC School Trustees Association, the first school trustees association in Canada.
Boards of education, together with the BC Ministry of Education, are responsible for the Kindergarten to Grade 12 public school system. That mandate was expanded in 2007 to include early childhood education and adult literacy.
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Like no other governing body
