Ontario takes control of 4 more school boards over 'mismanagement': minister

Ontario has taken power of 4 much schoolhouse boards owed to "mismanagement," the acquisition curate announced Friday portion saying it's clip for a broader rethink of committee governance.

The state has appointed supervisors to the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board, Paul Calandra announced connected what is the past time of schoolhouse successful galore boards crossed the province.

Calandra said the moves travel aft a proposal pursuing fiscal investigations of the boards showed increasing deficits, depletion of reserves and ongoing mismanagement.

"These boards person had aggregate opportunities to code their structural fiscal issues, and clip and again they person failed to bash so," Calandra told reporters Friday. "We are appointing supervisors with a wide mandate to get these boards backmost connected track."

Calandra said the boards person failed parents and students, and he's sending a message.

"All schoolhouse boards crossed the state should beryllium enactment connected notice, adjacent those that are moving a surplus," helium said.

"Where decision-making does not prioritize pupil success, wherever it does not prioritize resources for teachers successful the classroom, I volition not hesitate to measurement successful and redirect that backing backmost into the classroom."

In his small much than 3 months successful the portfolio, Calandra has travel retired swinging against boards — having present taken power of 5 — and signalled Friday determination is apt overmuch much to come.

"I deliberation a broader rethink of the governance operation of boards is required," helium said. "This is an important archetypal step." 

Trustees should beryllium focusing connected their halfway mandate, helium said, but the Ministry of Education besides needs to look astatine its ain structures. Too overmuch decision-making has been decentralized implicit the past fewer decades, Calandra said, and the ministry should beryllium providing "clear, concise rules" connected however wealth is spent, and what trustees and boards of acquisition do.

In April, Calandra enactment the Thames Valley District School Board nether supervision following a reappraisal of a $40,000-staff retreat to Toronto that included a enactment astatine the edifice connected to the Rogers Centre, wherever the Blue Jays play.

This is not conscionable astir boards that are moving deficits, Calandra said, pointing to the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board, which was the archetypal committee helium enactment nether supervision.

That came aft an probe recovered 4 schoolhouse trustees racked up a $190,000 measure connected a travel to Italy to bargain creation for caller schools.

Province's acquisition spending criticized

The president of the Ontario Public School Boards' Association noted that Calandra said astir boards are managing their budgets decently and supporting students and teachers.

"School committee trustees crossed Ontario instrumentality their roles precise seriously, peculiarly their committedness to being financially responsible, transparent, and accountable to the communities and students they serve," Kathleen Woodcock wrote successful a statement.

"We impulse the supervisors to support unfastened and transparent lines of connection with the trustees who correspond parents, students, and communities."

Others accidental the existent contented is the province's deficiency of spending connected education.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) says the province's takeover is simply a powerfulness grab, and boards haven't been decently funded for years.

"School boards are being forced to bash much with less," the OSSTF said successful a societal media post. "Since 2018, the Ford authorities has taken much than $6 cardinal retired of the schoolroom and backing has fallen FAR down inflation."

WATCH | Province faces disapproval for schoolhouse committee audits, acquisition funding: 

The state acceptable speech $30.3 cardinal for acquisition successful this year's budget, calling it a grounds investment. But a study past twelvemonth from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives recovered that Ontario's halfway acquisition backing has dropped by $1,500 per pupil since 2018, a fig the authorities has disputed.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles took to social media Friday to accidental schools request investments, "not implicit control."

"We've seen monolithic cuts since 2018, the authorities repeatedly targeting educators and acquisition workers, and zero respect for the kids successful our classrooms," she said successful a station connected X.

NDP acquisition professional Chandra Pasma wrote successful a connection that "Minister Calandra and the Progressive Conservatives are utilizing this arsenic an accidental to manus retired partisan appointments to individuals with nary inheritance successful acquisition and nary involvement successful the aboriginal of our kids."

The supervisor for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic committee is erstwhile Progressive Conservative MPP Rick Byers, who has a inheritance successful concern and auditing. The supervisor for the Toronto nationalist committee worked for the national Conservative authorities astir 2 decades agone and the authorities describes him arsenic a "highly accomplished nationalist argumentation and concern professional."

In a statement, Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie asked wherefore the state has appointed "conservative insiders arsenic supervisors for the 4 boards alternatively of supervisors with the requisite acquisition education needed to bash the job?"

"Today Doug Ford is doing the happening helium does best: pointing a digit and blaming others," she said.

Calandra says 4 boards person big of problems

The authorities said the TDSB has rejected astir fractional of the cost-saving measures absorption has recommended implicit the past 2 years and the committee relies heavy connected proceeds from plus income to equilibrium its books.

The Toronto Catholic committee tripled its in-year shortage compared to past year, the authorities said. The Ottawa committee has "completely depleted its reserves, incurred an accumulated deficit," and plans to usage wealth from plus income to balance, the authorities wrote successful a property release.

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, meanwhile, is "at the brink of bankruptcy," Calandra said.

Calandra besides announced Friday that helium has paused respective pending program changes for boards in bid to bring much consistency and to springiness teachers much clip to prepare.

A caller kindergarten program with a absorption connected literacy, mathematics and STEM was acceptable to commencement this fall, arsenic were changes to the past program for Grades 7, 8 and 10. Teachers had antecedently complained astir the timing of caller program announcements and rollouts, and the national representing precocious schoolhouse teachers said Friday this intermission is welcome.

"The process has been rushed, with small meaningful consultation with the teachers and acquisition workers expected to present it," OSSTF president-elect Martha Hradowy wrote successful a statement.

"[The union] is looking to enactment with the authorities to get this close — to guarantee students payment from a program that is thoughtful, well-supported, and built with frontline expertise."