April 28, 2020

An Open Letter to Durham District School Board Trustees

by Debbie L. Kasman in Transforming Education

Dear Durham District School Board Trustees,

In the summer of 2019, you hired a third-party investigator to delve into allegations of harassment by senior officials in the Durham District School Board. The investigator concluded that the Director of Education, Lisa Millar, and the Associate Director, David Visser, formed a duopoly of power, contravened Ontario’s laws and board policies, made repeated abusive, derogatory remarks to senior staff, and adopted a vindictive dislike towards certain superintendents.

September 6, 2019

An Open Letter to the Canadian School Boards Association

by Debbie L. Kasman in Transforming Education

The Canadian School Boards Association recently commissioned Valerie Overgaard, a retired Associate Superintendent from the Vancouver School District, to conduct a literature review to examine the relationship between high-quality public education systems and governing school boards.

November 15, 2018

Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board announces first-ever student census while ignoring equity issues

by Debbie L. Kasman in Transforming Education

In 2008, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPR) Trustee Gordon Gilchrist wrote a letter to the editor that many deemed to be racist. The Board of Trustees censured Trustee Gilchrist and removed him from a board committee, but they allowed him to continue to be involved in the hiring panel for dozens of superintendents and directors. Should a school board that has grossly mismanaged an equity situation be entrusted with sensitive equity information?