The province's Education minister wants to clear up any rumours he feels are being spread about the government's proposed education reform and how it relates to rural Manitoba. Cliff Cullen held a news conference Thursday with rural Manitoba media in hopes of addressing what he calls misconceptions surrounding Bill 64, and reiterating government's commitment to rural education.

"There's lots of misconception out there, I think there's a lot of fear-mongering going on, and people may be hearing things in the coffee shops that aren't accurate, so we want to make sure that people get educated on Bill 64," said Cullen.

Under Bill 64, the Manitoba government plans to streamline administration by reducing the current 37 school divisions into 15 regions overseen by one Provincial Education Authority. This single authority will deliver education services to all students and manage shared administrative services like collective bargaining and procurement. The legislation, if approved, would foster in a new provincial governance model that prioritizes parental involvement over school board leadership.

Read more: School Divisions Amalgamated Under New Education Plan

Cullen says Bill 64 is just one component of the effort to improve education in the province.

"Our strategy is built on four pillars; improving learning and outcomes, the second is about making sure our students are engaged and we build their competencies for future careers, we want to make sure our teachers and school staff have the knowledge, skills and tools to make sure they can teach in the classroom, and the fourth is governance, (which) is clearly getting all of the attention, but there's a lot of work going on and lots of discussions to come with

Cliff Cullen says the governance portion is just one component of the effort to improve education in the province. educators and parents about how we can make the system better here in Manitoba."

According to Cullen, one of the biggest myths around the legislation is the concept that it will lead to school closures.

"We're not in the business to close schools, in fact, we're in the business of building schools," noted the Minister, pointing to the Progressive Conservatives' recently announced expedited plan to build 20 new schools in Manitoba.

When asked if the legislation contained language pertaining to the lifting of the school closure moratorium in Manitoba, Cullen replied, "The fact of the matter is it's been school boards that have closed schools in the past. As a government, we have no intention of closing schools. There is a provision in Bill 64 that stipulates how and if any school could be closed and, obviously, that has to be done in consultation with the community."

When asked where the department is receiving feedback from, Cullen replied, "It's mostly from school boards. We have been getting some calls from parents just wanting to make sure they are getting the facts. That's why we sit down and have conversations with the people who do call, and then we direct them to bettereducationmb.ca for clarification. I think that really helps. I think that's really the message we're trying to deliver."

Looking ahead, Cullen says there's a lot of community engagement to come as the Parent Engagement Task Force gets to work next week. Made up of MLAs, parents and school and community leaders, the task force will lead 15 regional town halls and host workshops with parent advisory councils and school leaders to explore parental involvement in the re-vamped education system.