"The Minister of Education has dissolved the school boards which were elected by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador as of the end of August," said Reid. "These elected boards still have full authority for decision-making until that time.

"In the meantime, the minister has appointed transitional committees that are not only giving advice, but are actually involved in making decisions that they are not authorized to make, such as designating headquarters and selecting directors of education."

The Liberal MHA is also concerned that recent job advertisements and hiring has been done in contravention of the Schools Act which states board office locations and hiring can only be a function of current, existing, elected boards. "The law doesn’t permit two boards, one elected and one appointed, to function at the same time.

"Under the Schools Act 1997, the law states that school board directors and other employees can only be hired by the elected school boards. The minister has been unable to provide evidence that recent hiring done by the unelected, transitional committee is legal or will be in effect once the new boards assume office in September."