Ford government could keep school boards under supervision for ‘years’

Ontario’s education minister says he will keep school boards in the province under supervision for years if necessary and won’t feel pressure to hand them back to elected trustees until he is confident they’re being well-run.

Paul Calandra has put eight school boards under supervision over the past year, sidelining trustees at some of the province’s largest boards.

Both Toronto public and Catholic, as well as the two English-language boards in Peel Region, are now being run by provincial supervisors. The eight supervised boards represent some 750,000-plus students.

“Almost 40 per cent of the student population in Ontario is under the control of the Ministry of Education right now,” Calandra said. “That ostensibly is to ensure that classroom funding is maximized to lower down the temperature we’d seen in advance of supervision.”

Supervision is something that has concerned some in the education space, including parent groups and unions. An open letter sent to the Ford government asked for a clear plan on how boards would return to trustee-led governance.

Calandra, however, suggested he was in no hurry to reverse course.

“With respect to the boards that we have under supervision, they’re not going to be turned back until they’re on the right path, full stop,” he said. “If it takes us one year, two years, three years, 10 years — I don’t care.”

Calandra has also mused over months about the future of trustees, pointing out he has the power to abolish English public school trustees if he chooses.

David Maston, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, said giving the provincial government control of day-to-day decisions at school boards is a mistake.

“Comments about potentially eliminating them altogether, concentrating decision-making power at Queen’s Park, should concern us all,” he said.

“These actions raise serious concerns about the minister acting without meaningful consultation from those directly involved: the families of students, educators and education workers.”

Calandra has pointed to a trip to Italy taken by trustees at one board and an excursion to the Toronto Blue Jays’ hotel by another board as examples of mismanagement from elected trustees.

David Lepofsky, a disability advocate and chair of the AODA Alliance, said it was a “false dilemma” to suggest trustees must exist in their current form or be abolished.

“Mend it, don’t end it,” he suggested.

Among Lepofsky’s concerns is the danger that eliminating trustees could reduce the options for parents of children with disabilities. He said supervision at the Toronto District School Board had hurt children with special educational needs.

“What we’ve seen from the point of view of kids with disabilities and special education needs is that after six or more months under their supervision, things have not gotten one bit better,” he said.

“In fact, things have gotten appreciably worse.”

While Calandra seemed to be moving full steam ahead with the removal of trustees a few months ago, Premier Doug Ford would not commit to the plan on Wednesday.

“I can’t confirm it right at this second, everything’s on the table,” he said. “What we want to do is focus in the classroom, what we don’t want to see is mismanagement.”

Calandra said he still planned to recommend changes.

“I haven’t given the premier my suggestions yet for reform -I’ll do that very soon,” he said. “A whole host of options for the premier and then to my cabinet colleagues.”

The lack of a decision so far is something Kathleen Woodcock, president of the Ontario Public School Board Association, hopes means the idea could be scrapped.

“I hope the premier has decided to listen to all of the education sector, saying this is not a path that really makes any sense for our students,” she said.

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