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?
Read MoreCounterpoint: Ontario experience provides ample rationale for axing school boards in Nova Scotia
With all due respect to former Education Minister Marilyn More who wrote, “The Glaze report does not offer evidence to justify the extreme leap to disbanding elected school boards,” (Opinion: Canning school boards will have unintended consequences), there is more than enough evidence to justify the move. One need only look as far as Ontario to see why the recommendation is spot on.
Read MoreEducation Crisis in Ontario: Trustees stay on boards even after issues arise
There is a crisis occurring in education in Ontario. Two different Reviews of two very high profile school boards – the Toronto DSB and the York Region DSB – pointed to a culture of fear, silence and retribution in the education system. Both also pointed to a dysfunction and deficit of leadership capacity on the administrative and elected sides of the organizations. Margaret Wilson’s review called for a roll-back of trustee power. Suzanne Herbert and Patrick Case called for meaningful professional development in relation to trustee responsibilities and governance training so trustees would better understand and fulfil their responsibility of providing elected leadership. They found that far too many trustees “failed to demonstrate a basic understanding of their role and responsibilities as elected leaders.” In spite of these high profile government interventions, the problems continue. We’ve now reached a crisis point in Ontario.
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