NDP calls out Minister Calandra’s plans to cut communities out by collapsing 72 school boards into 4

Chandra Pasma, Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Education, made the following statement in response to news that the Minister of Education is looking at collapsing Ontario school boards into four provincial-level boards:

“Local decision-making is essential to providing the supports that our children need to be safe and successful at school. School boards oversee everything from hiring and assigning EAs and teachers, special education supports, student transportation routes, the location of new schools, and addressing local repairs.

How can one province-wide school board for each system possibly make decisions for communities as diverse as Kenora, Cochrane, Gogama, Ottawa, Peterborough, Orillia, Amherstburg, and Toronto?

Parents and communities deserve local, transparent, accountable representation through democratically elected trustees to ensure that the school bus shows up on time, that programs and hiring respond to community needs, that new schools are located where they are needed most, and repairs are prioritized and carried out quickly.

Instead of attacking the right of parents to have a say in their children’s education, Doug Ford and Paul Calandra should focus on providing the necessary funding to ensure that every child’s needs can be met.”

Background:

• Ontario’s four school systems oversee 4,848 schools providing education to more than 2 million students, and employ more than 145,000 educators.
• School boards determine the number, size, and location of schools; build, equip, repair and furnish schools; decide, based on consultation with the community, what programming will be offered locally; hire teachers and other staff; develop policies and protocols based on local needs; establish parent councils at each school and parent-involvement committees at the board level; and through local consortia, plan and deliver student transportation.