Ontario Premier Doug Ford appointed supervisors to take charge of five provincial school boards this year,
the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. His Progressive Conservative government wants education to be focused on the classroom, and the remaining boards have basically been
to shape up or ship out.
The move follows reports of enormous amounts of wasteful spending and failure to ensure student safety on a field trip. News that administrators of the Thames Valley District School Board went on a
at a luxury hotel when the board is struggling financially raised plenty of eyebrows. So did Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board trustees taking a
to Italy and spending over $100,000 on religious art and a large crucifix.
Meanwhile, the TDSB was embroiled in a huge controversy related to a September 2024 field trip to a protest that included overtures to Palestinian solidarity. While a government
on the incident stated that students weren’t forced to join a political protest, it confirmed the TDSB “failed to comply with its own policy and procedure that are intended to ensure student safety,” and that, “The emotional safety of some Jewish students was compromised.”
Toronto officials are quite displeased with this loss of power and control over education in the so-called centre of the universe. Maybe they sense it could be the first step to firing school trustees in their city and throughout the province. Education Minister Paul Calandra doesn’t appear to be opposed to this idea. “If it looks like we can deliver the product better, provide better outcomes for students, better resources for teachers and give parents certainty,” he told CBC News, “and if that means eliminating trustees, then I’m going to do it.”
That’s exactly what he should do. Becoming a trustee in Toronto has long been viewed as one of the easiest ways to start a political career. There are usually not too many serious or legitimate candidates running for district school board seats. The electorate won’t know much about you at first, but they’ll remember your name if you win an election or two. Voter turnout also tends to be much lower for trustee elections compared to city councillors and other municipal roles, meaning you don’t need all that much public support to win.
It goes without saying that left-wing thinkers and activists hold the vast majority of positions on Toronto school boards. Nevertheless, many Toronto trustees espouse agendas that aren’t always in line with the provincial Liberals or NDP. According to a July report in
, “Katrina Matheson, a parent organizer at the grassroots Toronto Schools Caregiver Coalition, said although she’s been impressed by some of the dedicated TDSB trustees she’s gotten to know over the years, her experiences with the board have left her feeling cynical about their role.
“TDSB staff seem to make decisions, like transferring a popular principal or recommending increasing special education class sizes, without regard for the overwhelming opposition from students and parents, she said. Meanwhile, trustees often tell parents they can’t weigh in on operational issues, and adhere to what Matheson sees as an artificial divide between operational decisions versus policy decisions.”
This relationship, according to the report, has apparently caused a rift between the TDSB and Matheson’s group: “As a result of their frustrations with the board, many parents in her coalition, including those who are left-leaning, have mixed feelings about the takeover, Matheson said.” This is a rather revealing analysis. It shows that Toronto school boards have become dysfunctional in the way they operate, make decisions and deal with students and parents. It’s a clear sign that change is required — and fast.
In some ways, this situation is reminiscent of what happened to the Calgary Board of Education in 1998-99. This was Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s first foray into politics, as it happens. She and Peggy Anderson, both serving as trustees, didn’t like what was happening in their city and
to reform education from within. This included calls for more school closures, higher fees and better education strategies.
Smith and Anderson’s left-wing colleagues were furious and fought back. Meetings became quite heated and little was accomplished. The Calgary school board self-destructed and Alberta’s PC government dissolved it within 11 months.
A 1999 Angus Reid poll found that over seven in 10 respondents
with Alberta Learning Minister Lyle Oberg’s decision to fire the trustees. This makes sense, given that the only two normal-sounding voices serving as Calgary trustees couldn’t make any headway due to the abundance of left-wingers on the board who refused to consider policies that would improve educational standards. The only viable solution was to blow it up and start over again.
Ford needs to do the same thing not only in Toronto, but all of Ontario. Blowing up Ontario’s dysfunctional school boards and firing their trustees will allow better ideas come to the fore and improve education as a whole.
National Post
