Lack of leadership cited for Nunavik school board’s financial struggles
Quebec education ministry’s lengthy investigation of board notes numerous problems
Quebec’s education ministry has found layers of problems within Kativik Ilisarnilirniq’s administration and deemed the board’s financial situation “out of control,” a new report says.
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education investigated the Nunavik school board’s governance and administration between December 2023 and June 2024, following a provincial cabinet order.
It launched the investigation in response to the school board’s deteriorating financial situation — going from a $14.5 million surplus in the 2018-19 school year to a $26.7 million deficit in 2022-23.
The report, titled Administrative Inquiry into the Administration and Operation of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, and released this month, offers 10 observations about how the board’s financial situation deteriorated.
“The elected commissioners lack sufficient knowledge to carry out their roles and exercise the responsibilities related to their function,” it said.
Fourteen commissioners are elected from each community to form the board. Five of them plus a Kativik Regional Government appointee make up the board’s executive committee.
“According to observations made at last year’s meetings, the board is not sufficiently involved in many of the areas for which it is responsible,” the report said.
One example is strategic planning. The report says there has not been an exercise to plan for the future in nearly 10 years.
“The absence of formal strategic planning means that neither the commissioners nor [the board’s] senior management have a common point of reference.”
The report also pointed out that the frequency with which the council of commissioners meets — four times a year — is insufficient to effectively oversee school board workings, remain engaged or deal with challenges the board faces. It also found commissioners are not involved enough in the board’s finances.
“The commissioners’ discussions appear to be minimal, if not absent,” the report said. “They are limited to concluding that there is a lack of ‘adequate’ funding from the [ministry of education].”
The report pointed out that since the beginning of the inquiry, the council did not make it a priority to hold more discussions related to finances.
It also said the board is unable to adapt to organization changes because of members’ lack of expertise, there’s a lack of finance department leadership, weak controls against errors or fraud, while the council of commissioners’ focus on political issues over financial matters.
As a result of its investigation, the ministry will appoint an external support person and a specialized firm to advise the board’s administration, inform commissioners of their roles and responsibilities, improve the financial department, and make a diagnosis for organization changes.
In a statement May 19, Kativik Ilisarnilirniq president Sarah Aloupa said “the investigation report portrays the council of commissioners as reckless when it comes to making financial decisions.
“The reality of it is that we were faced with difficult choices: inadequate funding and urgent needs in terms of infrastructure to maintain or expand, new positions needed to support students, etc.”
Aloupa said the consensus among commissioners at the time was that their best strategy was to approve a deficit budget.
“So, here we are today, with a deficit and a sound financial recovery plan in place, but most importantly, with open communication channels with the [education ministry],” Aloupa said.
She said the report has been helpful but some recommendations show a disconnect between the provincial government and the Nunavik education sector, specifically a lack of training for the commissioners.
The training recommended, which is provided by the education ministry, is not tailored to the Nunavik board and its different work environment, the board’s statement said. Also, only 10 per cent of the training material is available in English.
The statement said it should be the ministry’s responsibility to develop training material that’s tailored and relevant to the region.
“We are committed to strengthening the existing collaboration as we continue working on the development of action plans to address the report’s recommendations,” Aloupa said.
“We also hope that the report will help the [education ministry] to establish effective priorities in providing support to Kativik Ilisarniliriniq.”