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In preparing this brief, the Advisory Board on English Education (ABEE) has explored the research literature on models of governance in education and listened very carefully to the reactions of schools and the wider community to Bill 40. The brief questions the relevance of the reform by asking: What problem is it trying to solve? Currently, English-language schools have an excellent success rate on provincial, national and international measures of achievement and focus on providing students with the means and options to do even better. ABEE appreciates that a form of suffrage for English boards has been maintained but feels that it falls short of the English-speaking community’s expressed expectations of universality. ABEE, along with others, has long urged the government to reform the electoral process with a view to improving voter participation. We believe that with modifications to the process, elections can be cost effective and encourage increased participation. The Board further believes that the present system of election by universal suffrage every four years has served the English-speaking community well and that any failures in governance should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. ABEE welcomes the Bill’s intent to provide mandatory training for service centre board members and school governing board members.