TORONTO – Ontario Premier Doug Ford has not yet clarified whether school board trustees—the elected officials representing local school boards—will appear on the ballot when residents across the province vote in municipal elections this fall.
“We’ll come out with an answer on that shortly,” Ford told reporters Wednesday morning during the press conference in Etobicoke where he unveiled the “Classroom Supplies Fund,” a new initiative that will give elementary school teachers $750 per school year to purchase classroom materials directly (here our article). During the conference, when asked whether his government intends to eliminate school board trustees entirely, Ford replied, ““I can’t confirm it right at this second. Everything’s on the table…”.
Currently, some of the province’s school boards are under provincial supervision. Education Minister Paul Calandra took control of these boards due to issues ranging from financial mismanagement to internal conflicts and excessive spending.
Last fall, the provincial government passed legislation that makes it easier for the education minister to intervene in school boards, fueling speculation about potential sweeping changes to the school board system. On Wednesday, Calandra—who attended the press conference with Ford—explained that a decision is still being made. ““I haven’t given the premier my suggestions yet for reform, so I’ll do that very soon – a whole host of options for the premier and then to my cabinet colleagues,” Calandra said. “So that has yet to be decided, where we go from there. So it depends on what we decide. But full stop; if it’s not in the best interest of students, it’s not in best interest of teachers delivering, then it is not a direction we’ll go in…”.
Calandra added that the supervision of school boards will continue until the ministry is satisfied they are back on track. “If it takes us one year, two years, three years, 10 years, I don’t care,” Calandra said. “When they are on the right path, when they are doing what’s in the best interest of our teachers, students and parents, and if there are still trustees, we’ll turn them over (to them)…” he said. However, he noted that he does not foresee the boards currently under supervision being returned anytime soon, as there is still much work to be done.
Traditionally, Ontario residents vote for local school board trustees at the same time as they vote for mayoral and city council candidates. Municipal elections are scheduled for October 26. So, will trustees be on the ballot or not?
In the pic above, Ford and Calandra from the video of the press conference on Ford’s Twitter X