School board trustees in Ontario have a history dating back to 1816, when communities elected trustees to manage local schools, hire teachers, and develop rules for the way schools were to operate. The role of the school board trustee has evolved over time, with significant consolidation of school boards occurring in the late 1960s and a reduction in the number of trustees. Today, trustees should serve as the democratically elected leaders of school boards. The public believes elected trustees set policies and ensure accountability by representing student and community needs within education laws established by the province.
You might have noticed I used the word ‘should’, because this has not been happening for quite some time. In fact, today’s school board trustees have been stripped of much of their role and advocacy. Trustees can no longer answer constituent emails, they can no longer go into the schools they serve, and they can no longer call families back who have concerns with a school or the system.
As for holding things to account, look down the road to the Grand Erie District School Board (GEDSB) where trustee Carol Ann Sloat has been put through the ringer for raising concern that GEDSB conducts too much business behind closed doors. This long-term trustee has been in and out of court for seemingly advocating for the people she serves, the taxpayer.
By stripping trustees of their powers, it has created this means to an end mentality whereby some taxpayers have questioned, “Do we really need school board trustees?”
As we know, there is a Brant Haldimand-Norfolk Catholic District School Board Trustee (Mark Watson) who has not repaid his Italian junket expenses. I asked Premier Ford last November 27 to demand these expenses be paid back. Legislation as it stands cannot force the trustee to cough up the money. I remember clearly after my question in the Ontario Legislature, a government member commented to me maybe it was time to get rid of trustees. I knew right then and there, Trustee Watson would serve as the poster child to seal the deal on the means to an end for school board trustees.
The province recently appointed supervisors to five school boards and has put the remaining 72 boards on notice; however, Ontario’s Education Minister over the past few weeks has said he will have a plan by the end of the year to possibly eliminate trustees from the province’s school boards.
Since my election in 2022, I have often written and spoken about my concerns that Canada is headed toward centralized power and decision-making.
As egregious as the Italian junket fiasco was, I do believe it is somewhat of an anomaly. Further, I question whether school board trustees are really the problem in our broken education system, or are they the low hanging fruit? We have not eliminated the roles of MPs, MPPs, mayors, or councillors, even though there have been some at all levels of government found guilty of abusing taxpayer dollars over the course of history.
School board trustees have long been somewhat of a sleepy election issue, but we might want to pay attention given this is the same government who has imposed strong mayor powers in nearly half of Ontario municipalities.
If you look closely, the plan is to create a crisis, create the atmosphere for a means to an end, and eventually the taxpayer plays along until it’s too late. Trustees eliminated today, councillors eliminated tomorrow.
