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Halifax County’s Municipal School Board was established by council in February 1942, after discussions in each of the school sections. The Board replaced three earlier District Boards (Rural, Eastern, Western). Operating under the Education Act, the Board consisted of three councillors appointed by council, three members appointed by Governor-in-Council, and the Municipal Clerk/Treasurer who was appointed as an ex officio member by statute and also served as the Board’s Secretary. Halifax County’s Municipal Clerk and Treasurer is known to have served as Secretary to the Board until 1954 when the Board appointed its own Secretary. The 1979 School Board Membership Act required one-third of members to be elected; one-third appointd by Municipal Council; and one-third appointed by Governor-in-Council for a three-year term. At this time Halifax County increased its membersip from seven to twelve commissioners (three representatives from each of the four sub-districts.Upon formation, the Board met on a semi-annual basis, the later weekly, and appointed a chairman from amongst themselves. It met at the Law Court Building on Spring Garden Road until 1956 when it moved into its own offices at 34.5 Morris St. then in 1959 to the new Municpal Building at 2750 Dutch Village Road. The Municipal School Board was responsible for overseeing the administration and operation of schools in the municipality. According to Chapter 21 of the 1942 Nova Scotia Statutes, the Board had the power to approve budget estimates submitted by School Trustees; transfer money to Trustees for school maintenance; employ and pay teachers and other assistants as needed; make arrangements for student transportation; and to create regulations as necessary to better enable them to carry out their duties and responsibilities (83). In 1956, the Pottier Royal Commission on Education Finance the Board assumed title and full responsibility for the operation of schools.
The Secretary was primarily responsible for the administrative functions of the Board and worked closely with the Department of Education, the Inspector of Schools for the region, and the county’s various school sections. The municipality originally had about six school districts (Rural East, Village West, etc) which were divided into school sections. School sections were named for the local communities and assigned a number, although numbers were not unique and renumbering began anew in each school district. The maintenance and operation of schools in each school section was overseen by a local group of School Trustees who determined the section’s school tax and sometimes collected it (although sections often chose to have the municipality collect school tax revenue), determined how funds would be allocated, prepared budgets and financial statements for the Board, and managed school maintenance.
As parts of the County were annexed into the City of Dartmouth (1961) and the City of Halifax (1969) those school sections within the annexed areas became under the jurisdiction of the Dartmouth and Halifax Boards of School commissioners, respectively.
When Bedford incorporated as a town in 1979, the schools within the town were under the jurisdiction of the Bedford Board of School Commissioners. In January 1982 the County's Municipal School Board joined with the Town of Bedford Board of School Commissioners to become the Halifax County - Bedford District School Board.
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RAD 24.18|Source: As appearing in published reports and minutes of council, 1944.
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Sources
- Statutes of Nova Scotia.
1982 minutes of the Interim District School Board.
Halifax County School Boards: 1832-1982: A Review of Our Past by C.P.J. Briggs, Secretary to the Board, 1982