Education minister says school governance overhaul will come in New Year

The Ford government’s plan to potentially eliminate trustees at Ontario’s school boards won’t be tabled this year, according to the education minister, who says he has heard “absolutely nothing” yet to dissuade him from major reform.

Over the summer, Education Minister Paul Calandra mused about governance of Ontario’s school boards, as he announced the takeover of several by Queen’s Park, citing mismanagement.

He told Global News in September he would likely leave some form of French and Catholic trustees in place if he overhauled school board governance, citing constitutional restraints.

“The public school trustees have no constitutional cover whatsoever,” he said.

At an unrelated event on Wednesday, Calandra said that that the wouldn’t be ready this year, as he had hoped, but suggested little else in his thinking has changed.

“I have not yet provided advice to cabinet on where I want to go,” he said. “But to be clear, there is absolutely nothing to date that has moved me from where I have been for months, that trustees aren’t necessarily the right avenue to deliver education across the province of Ontario.”

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Since becoming the education minister following February’s snap election, Calandra has taken a keen interest in school board governance.

He has taken control of six school boards, sidelining their trustees and replacing them with supervisors, saying he believes Queen’s Park should have a more direct say over elements of how school boards are run.

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“As I said a couple of weeks ago, I want to absolutely, positively make sure that I have done all of my homework when it comes to charter and constitutional rights with respect to the French language boards and the Catholic boards,” he said.

“So I will obviously be in a position, when the legislature resumes after the New Year, to provide absolute clarity on where we’re going.”

Calandra has not said exactly what he plans to do about school board governance, but has left the elimination or scaling back of trustees on the table.

The government recently passed Bill 33 amid protests and complaints from some parents, advocates and opposition politicians. It gave Calandra enhanced powers to take over school boards for non-financial reasons.