É«É«À²

At the end of June, Education Minister Paul Calandra placed four large boards under provincial supervision — the É«É«À² District School Board, É«É«À² Catholic, Dufferin-Peel Catholic and Ottawa public.

He said the boards were either running deficits over many years, failed to deliver a balanced budget as required, had depleted resources or were using funds from the sale of buildings toward operating costs — funds that are typically, but not always, used for school renovations and upgrades.

At the time, Calandra told the Star the financial troubles had “gone on long enough.”

The boards, however, have argued that while provincial funding has increased, it has not kept up with inflation or their actual costs for years, nor has it covered more recent mandatory increases to their employment insurance contributions.

Under supervision, which can last several years, trustees are stripped of their powers and their honoraria, and an appointed supervisor makes all the decisions. Trustees are not to attend board meetings unless invited and can’t go to school events nor “engage with principals, school staff, or school councils in their capacity as trustee,” or go to their board offices, says a memo from the province sent to the affected boards. 

“When a school board in Ontario is placed under ministry supervision, the supervisor takes over the governance and decision-making functions of the board,” said Emma Testani, press secretary to Calandra, in a statement to the Star.

“The supervisor has the authority to make decisions that would normally be made by the trustees, including financial management, policy implementation, and operational oversight. If parents have concerns, they can reach out to school boards directly.”

Initially, É«É«À² trustees were to forward any emails from parents or community members to their director.

But an email from É«É«À² District School Board director Clayton La Touche, sent Friday afternoon, told them that they have not only lost access to their emails — automatic replies will be activated — but that they have until end of day Friday July 25 to return their cellphones, computers and any other board property.

Catholic trustees in É«É«À² and Dufferin-Peel, however, continue to have authority over denominational issues and are allowed to keep their phones, and will receive 25 per cent of their pay given their limited duties.

É«É«À² Catholic board Chair Markus de Domenico noted no financial impropriety on the part of trustees or staff has been found at his board, and that it’s unclear what denominational aspects Catholic trustees will still be in charge of.

“The rules of parental engagement are harsh, and only serve to hurt parents and students,” he told the Star. “They are punitive in nature and not in any way reflective or responsive to the findings” of two examinations of his board’s finances.

The education minister had previously placed the Thames Valley public board under supervision, for a total of five, which is unprecedented in the province.