File AA-E3

ORDER OF THE MINISTER DECLARING

a School Division within the meaning of section 443 of The Public Schools Act.

WHEREAS subsection (2) (a) of section 444C of The Public Schools Act provides as follows:

"444C (2) the Minister may (a) in his discretion; or (b) on the written petition of at least twenty per centum of the resident electors of a division, cause a referendum of the resident electors in that school division to be held to determine whether that school division should be established as a division within the meaning of section 443."

AND WHEREAS subsection (3) of section 444C of The Public Schools Act provides as follows:

"444C (3) Where, under this section, a referendum is approved by the vote of a majority of the resident electors voting thereon, the Minister shall, by his written order, declare the school division to be a division within the meaning of section 443; and thereupon all the affairs of the school districts in that school division shall be managed by the Board of that school division.

AND WHEREAS subsection (5) of section 444C of The Public Schools Act as amended provides as follows:

"444C (5) where the Minister, by his order under this section, establishes a division within the meaning of section 443, the order shall

1. state the date on which the division is to be established;
2. set the date for the election of a new Board of Trustees for the division and make such provisions for the holding of the election not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act and the regulations made under this section, as the Minister may think necessary;
3. set the date when the new Board of trustees shall take office;

AND WHEREAS a majority of the resident electors who voted on a proposal to establish The Portage la Prairie School Division No. 24 as a division within the meaning of section 443 of The Public Schools Act have voted in favor thereof;

AND WHEREAS it is deemed desirable and in the public interest to establish the division in accordance with the proposal;

THEREFORE, under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by subsections (3) and (5) of section 444C of The Public Schools Act, I do hereby order:

1. That The Portage la Prairie School Division No. 24 be declared a school division within the meaning of section 443 of The Public Schools Act as of the first day of April, 1967;
2. That the election of the new Board of Trustees be held on the thirty-first day of March, 1967;
3. That the new Board of Trustees take office on the first day of April, 1967.

Dated this 11^th day of March, 1967.

"G. Johnson"

Minister of Education