Public consultations have been taking place across Manitoba to get the public's view on what's important to them in the upcoming K-12 Education Review.

According to the Western School Division Board, the Morden area were well-represented at the event Monday night in Carman.

"The evening started off with a nice introduction of the Education Commission that is going to be reviewing our education system in Manitoba. And then we broke off into different discussion groups," says Western School Division (WSD) Board Chair, Brian Fransen.

Clayton Manness, Commission Co-Chair marked a few areas of focus for the discussions including:

- A long-term vision to prepare students for a rapidly changing world
- How to achieve excellence in student outcomes
- Equipping teachers and school leaders with the tools they need to be successful
- Introducing stronger accountability structures to ensure students are succeeding
- What type of governance structures are needed to achieve better outcomes for Manitoba students
- How to fund the system to ensure it is sustainable and ensure that money is going to the areas where it is most needed

"I do believe that there were upwards of 20 different topics in round circles that people could discuss and provide feedback to the commission. It was all stuff that people in the region who were attending the meeting provided as conversation topics," says Fransen.

He says that overall, the Commission was very attentive and appeared to be taking in and listening to what was being discussed.

"Some of the topics included funding, math teaching, and curriculum . . . autonomy around education, and the impact that any changes could have in the system. Of course lots of impact on students."

Normally the WSD Board meets on Monday evenings, but the board cancelled the meeting to make sure every trustee could attend.

"We have board meetings twice a month and this happens – well it hasn't happened in our time, so we saw that it was a priority for us to put our time serving our community [by] being at this event."

Fransen adds that it was important for them to advocate on behalf of the citizens they represent every day.

For those unable to attend the consultation, there is the option to present feedback through the Commission’s online forum or in a brief.