TORONTO – Feel badly for Minister Calandra and for the governance model of local school boards. Minister Calandra, in June, sought and received authority to dissolve several school boards and to vest their regulatory and administrative authority in his [cabinet] person.
After investigations by reputable auditing firms indicated/confirmed poor and costly decision-making to the detriment of students and parents, Minister Calandra said “enough is enough”! He appointed a Supervisor to oversee business and ensure economic compliance with Ministry curricula and the attainment (as professionally as possible) of educational goals.
Problem: staff responsible for the “operational side” has remained unchanged; trustees, who can only make decisions on policy and only upon the recommendation of that staff, effectively no longer exist – unless they address “denominational issues”.
The Toronto Catholic District School board is embroiled in some serious quandries – of their own making, it could be argued. Two trustees (“Catholic”) are competing for allocation of expensive resources in Etobicoke. One of them, Teresa Lubinski, has been advocating that students in her ward have a new high school and – in the interim – be temporarily housed at Scarlett Heights (6.5 km to the northwest) until such time as the new school is available.
That must be “the price” for successfully securing $36 million for a new school on the current site of Bishop Allen. At an Oct.1 Town Hall to deal with the issue, the Associate Director (not the Supervisor) offered that if they didn’t act, they could lose the money – not an inconsiderable factor given the TCDSB is already $75 million in the red, according to Minister Calandra. Besides, the trustee [former Chair] Markus De Domenico had lobbied to keep Scarlett Heights for students of his own Ward. De Domenico has become a target for the Minister on account of the frivolity of the personal expenses ($15 hamburgers at 3:00AM) charged to the Board, authorized by the Director Brendan Browne.
The Toronto Lands Corporation, entrusted by the Toronto District (public) School Board, recommended, and oversaw, the sale of Scarlett Heights for $61 million, net of fees etc. Mr. Browne was the former Executive Superintendent at the TDSB. The school site is 10 acres in size.
Toronto Lands Corporation docs. do not indicate the filing of a Planning Report, Consultation with Local Trustee or a TDSB Staff Review and Agreement. It is noteworthy that typically an acre of developable land in the area will permit the subdivision of seven 50ft x 120 ft lots and the construction thereon of 70 single family homes with a minimum market value of $2.5 million each.
TCDSB does not want to use the school. In a letter to parents inviting “Bishop Allen Academy School Community” to an open house at the BAA current school, where they will provide a relocation update to the site at Don Bosco, a round trip of 20 kms daily from the BAA. Why?
Here’s its rationale: “Scarlett Heights … is not suitable for student use.
The property requires extensive building repairs, including roof work, to bring the facility up to standard and make it safe for learning. In addition, the Scarlet Heights site has received $26.4 million in funding to support a future Catholic Secondary school to meet long term enrollment needs in Etobicoke. Using it temporarily would delay the project by several years and postpone much-needed relief for enrollment pressures”.
The Toronto Lands proposal apparently followed an extensive analysis (years long) of negative population “growth”.
To “move the current BAA student population to and from Don Bosco will require a caravan of 31 school busses, at what additional monetary cost. Mr. De Domenico has already appealed to Mr. Calandra’s Cabinet colleague Minister Kinga Surma for help.
Corriere Canadese reached out to the Offices of the Minister and the Director, without any response.
