Given all the school board problems, Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra has had to deal with in his short time in the post – he’s already taken over five boards for various mismanagement offences – it is not surprising that he is musing publicly about changing the whole governance model.
His latest comments were sparked by a question from a municipal counsellor at the annual meeting of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. At the usual “bear pit” session where local politicians get to question their provincial counterparts, Calandra was asked if he would give more control over school boards to local councils.
He gave an unequivocal “no” but then said that “the governance model is going to change.”
The province must stop downloading responsibility to trustees who do not have any taxing authority he said, “or the expertise to undertake some of the things that we’re asking them to do.”
Ironically, it was the Progressive Conservative government of former premier Mike Harris in the mid nineties, that took away school boards’ ability to levy local taxes and assumed funding authority in an attempt to stop trustees from imposing unreasonable tax hikes.
Calandra said that the provincial ministry is considering taking on more responsibility, specifically mentioning how schools get built. But he left no doubt that if he has his way, big changes are coming to achieve more consistent board performance across the province on a wide range is issues.
In subsequent public comments, Calandra said: “if it looks like we can deliver the product better, provide better outcomes for students, better resources for teachers and give parents certainty, and if that means eliminating trustees, then I’m going to do it.”
Not surprisingly, the usual cacophony of criticism erupted as it always does when any government talks about education system change. The main theme from school board reps, union leaders and opposition politicians, as it almost always is, was just send more money and all will be well.
Calandra may wish the solution is that easy. But there have been too many boards getting into trouble, too many gaps in student performance and too many unhappy parents to ignore some fundamental questions about what school boards should be able to do and how they do it.
Ontario is not alone in questioning local school board governance. Manitoba tried to remove boards but backed off due to the political backlash. Nova Scotia was able to eliminate their boards and replace them with regional authorities that reported to the government and local advisory groups. Quebec’s attempt to establish “service centres” instead of boards has ended up in a court challenge.
The Quebec situation may be flashing a yellow caution light to the government, given the constitutional guarantees of school self governance that exist for Ontario’s francophones and Catholics. This could pose a challenge if Ontario wants to dramatically upend the current system of local governance and replace it with more provincial control.
But hopefully, this will not cause the government to stop asking questions about what works best.
Given provincial responsibilities for building and funding infrastructure from roads and transit to hospitals and long-term care facilities, it might make sense to include new school construction in the same process.
But matters like hiring school buses and setting local pick-up routes make sense to remain local responsibilities. The province already bargains centrally with teacher unions and sets province-wide curriculum standards.
Tailoring curriculum delivery to achieve clear outcomes in individual schools should also remain local.
Wherever it all ends up, however, the outcome of a new model must ensure that the role and authority of parents in their children’s education is enhanced. Replacing dysfunctional school board bureaucracies with a more distant provincial bureaucracy is not the answer either.
Janet Ecker is a former Ontario Finance Minister, Minister of Education, Minister of Community and Social Services and Government House Leader in the governments of Premier Mike Harris and Premier Ernie Eves. After her political career, she served as the founding CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, a public-private partnership dedicated to building Toronto region into an international financial centre. She currently sits on a number of corporate and non-profit boards, agencies and advisory committees.
Ms. Ecker received the Order of Canada for her public service contributions and was recognized as one of the “Most Influential People in the World’s Financial Centres” by Financial Centres International. She also received a “Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award” from the Women’s Executive Network and the Richard Ivey School of Business, among other awards. She is also one of the founders of Equal Voice, a national, multi-partisan organization working to elect more women.
