Anglican Parish of Trinity. Board of Education

The Trinity Church of England School Board was formed c.1883, for the purpose of administering the schools of the Parish of Trinity. Schools which came under the jurisdiction of the Board were at Trinity, Lockston, Goose Cove, Dunfield, Trouty, Spaniard’s Cove, Old Bonaventure, New Bonaventure, Kerley’s Harbour, British Harbour, Delby’s Cove and Little
Harbour, Ireland’s Eye and Traytown and Ivanhoe.

School Boards were established as a result of the Education Act of 1876 which stated that schools would be administered by local denominational boards under the supervision of superintendents. The 1876 Act consolidated previous legislation, under which the government’s education grant was divided equally between the Protestant and Roman Catholic church for the administration of schools. Denominational education was entrenched under Term 17 of the Terms of Union in 1949, which confirmed the right of Churches to own and operate their own schools.

The school boards came directly under the Parish, the rector serving as chair of the Board for the parish. The Boards were responsible for organizing elementary education within their district. They built and maintained the school buildings, hired the teachers, maintained the accounts, conducted regular meetings, and made regular reports to the superintendent.

From 1962 to 1969 Trinity and Trinity East - Port Rexton Boards were combined and came under one administration. In 1969 all the Protestant denominations in Newfoundland amalgamated, reducing the number of boards from 229 to 22. The school board for the whole region has since been headquartered in Clarenville.

Source: Minutes of the board; Newfoundland Education Act 1876; Trinity-Port Rexton Board of Education Minutes.

Created - April 18, 2013

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