Toronto/CMEDIA: Ontario is reportedly taking control of four school boards, including the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) to address what the ministry called ongoing cases of financial mismanagement.
An announcement was made by Paul Calandra, Ontario’s Education Minister today that the boards, which also include the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) and Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board (DPCDSB), “failed” in their responsibility to parents and students by “losing sight” of their core mission: “ensuring student success.”
“We’re strengthening oversight and accountability so that parents can have the confidence that every dollar is spent responsibly to directly benefit students. I have made it clear that if a school board veers off its mandate, I will take action to restore focus, rebuild trust and put students first,” Calandra said in a news release.
The province has appointed supervisors to the TDSB, TCDSB, OCDSB and DPCDSB, Paul Calandra announced on what is the last day of school in many boards across the province.
Calandra said that these moves were taken after a recommendation following financial investigations of the boards showed growing deficits, depletion of reserves and ongoing mismanagement.
The TDSB has rejected 46 percent of proposed cost-savings brought forward by management, according to the government, and also relies “heavily on unsustainable proceeds” from asset sales to balance its books.
TCDSB in the meanwhile tripled its in-year deficit compared to last year and is at risk of default in “the coming years,” the ministry said.
OCDSB has “completely depleted its reserves” and the DPCDSB is at risk of financial default by August 31, 2025, said the province.
Since he took on the education portfolio in March, Calandra has taken a hard line on school board spending.
Investigations were launched by Calandra’ ministry a little over a month into the new role into spending at the school boards in Toronto and Ottawa.
The financial probe at the Peel board followed in early June.
Threatening to take over the finances of the Toronto District School Board last month if it didn’t get its spending in order, Calandra said.
The city’s largest school board’s Officials said at the time that the province was “deflecting” its responsibility in launching the financial probe, as it said its schools were being underfunded.
Calandra said the boards have failed parents and students, and he’s sending a message.
“All school boards across the province should be put on notice, even those that are running a surplus,” he said.
“Where decision-making does not prioritize student success, where it does not prioritize resources for teachers in the classroom, I will not hesitate to step in and redirect that funding back into the classroom.”
“I think a broader rethink of the governance structure of boards is required,” he said. “This is an important first step.”
Since then TDSB trustees have passed a budget to eliminate its $34.4 million deficit over the next two years.
No comment has been made by the TDSB on the change.
A record $30.3 billion in funding for schools next year was previously announced by the province, but the teachers’ unions argued at the time that the funding doesn’t go far enough.
The president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association noted that Calandra said most boards are managing their budgets properly and supporting students and teachers.
“School board trustees across Ontario take their roles very seriously, particularly their commitment to being financially responsible, transparent, and accountable to the communities and students they serve…We urge the supervisors to maintain open and transparent lines of communication with the trustees who represent parents, students, and communities,” Kathleen Woodcock wrote in a statement.
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) says that the boards haven’t been properly funded for years.
“School boards are being forced to do more with less,” the OSSTF said in a social media post. “Since 2018, the Ford government has taken more than $6 billion out of the classroom and funding has fallen FAR behind inflation.”
