"Amalgamation, there's no evidence to show that it'll make any difference on kids' learning."

That's from Pine Creek School Division Superintendent Bruce Lyons following Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen's announcement last week that he's exploring the possibility of merging school divisions.

"I'm not sure, exactly, what the minister is referring to when he says, 'Something doesn't seem quite right'." Lyons muses, "I really wonder about the idea that citizens of this province can be over-represented in political processes. Something small school divisions really pride themselves on is local decision-making; where citizens of their communities actually have a say, and input, on how their children are educated."

"Having school divisions amalgamate, and removing that idea of local autonomy and local decision-making from citizens, as a way to have our kids do better in school, on its face, doesn't seem quite right to me. I'm not seeing the connection there," says Lyons, adding the province needs to be clear on why they want to amalgamate school divisions.

In regard to the education review, Lyons says no one in the field has been given any indication as to what is being reviewed, aside from the curriculum. He notes it was also interesting that Minister Goertzen said Manitoba's kids aren't getting what they need.

"There is lots of research on the factors that affect kids' learning and it's really easy to find," says Lyons. "If the province wants to really invest in initiatives that help kids learn, there are all kinds of initiatives they could put funding into to make sure kids do better in school. Amalgamating school divisions, it's not one of them. It's not on the list."