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Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Let them do their dirty work': School trustees react as Ford government takes over four boards, including Toronto public and Catholic, over finances
The province has seized control of four school boards, including Toronto public and Catholic, accusing them of financial mismanagement — an unprecedented crackdown that drew both criticism but also praise from trustees who've been stripped of their powers. With the Dufferin-Peel Catholic board 'at the brink of bankruptcy' and unlikely to make payroll later this summer, Education Minister Paul Calandra said he is also sending a supervisor there, as well as to Ottawa's public board. The four boards have either continued to run deficits or failed to balance budgets this year, instead relying on multi-year plans or wanting to use funds from the sales of properties to get out of the red, which Calandra told the Star shows just how precarious their situations are. 'It's gone on long enough,' he said in an interview. 'These boards have run multi-year deficits with no plan to come back to balanced budget, despite the fact that both Ottawa and the TDSB (Toronto District School Board) were trying to present balanced budgets at the last minute. Both of them — Toronto in particular — have balanced budgets based on the sale of surplus assets,' which are funds intended to pay for school renovations and upgrades. Boards, however, argue that even though funding from the province has increased, it has not nearly kept up with their actual costs — especially when inflation is factored in — nor covered mandatory increases such as employment insurance contributions. Supervision was unnecessary 'given the meaningful steps the board has taken over the years to address its financial challenges' and an independent report confirmed 'there was no financial impropriety on behalf of staff or the trustees,' said Toronto Catholic board chair Markus de Domenico, adding he was 'shocked' by the move. 'Structural deficits of this scale do not arise overnight,' he added. 'They are the result of chronic underfunding in key areas such as sick leave, statutory benefits and the high costs associated with operating under-enrolled schools, which boards are not permitted to close under provincial direction. These pressures are not unique to the (Toronto Catholic board) and are shared by many large urban school boards across Ontario.' The Toronto Catholic board initially reported a deficit of $65.9 million, but found savings and reduced it to $48.5 million. It had been asking for ministry approval to apply $30 million in building sales to the remaining deficit, and had a multi-year financial recovery plan. Calandra called the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board 'just a complete disaster' with an ongoing deficit, depleted reserves, 'trustees resigning and parents just in a fury over decisions that are being made.' The Dufferin-Peel Catholic board 'again, unwilling to really balance the budget, but also carrying historical bad decisions when it comes to long-term disability and managing it themselves … it only survives based on funding that the province gives it in advanced payments,' he said. Calandra said while not all boards are in such trouble, the supervision of a few puts all on notice. 'I'm just, literally, done with trustees or boards of education that go on tangents, that work outside their mandate, that refuse to live by the funding model ,' he told the Star. 'We have schools that are unsafe, teachers who are frustrated and students and parents who don't feel that they're getting the quality of education that $30 billion' should provide. He said he's frustrated with ineffective governance, 'and I'm reviewing that as well.' Weidong Pei, a trustee with Toronto District School Board, welcomed the provincial clampdown, saying 'it really has become abundantly clear to me that the (board) is dysfunctional. It's crisis after crisis.' Decisions are driven by politics, not data, he added, citing the replacement of merit-based admissions to specialty schools with a lottery system and the desire to rename three schools with ties to historical figures. He said recent budget discussions highlight how 'wholly dysfunctional' the board is because there were cuts to programs that will affect kids, but no cuts to senior administrators. Calandra said for decades, governments have downloaded responsibility to school boards 'to avoid owning issues, and that has to stop. Whether it's curriculum, whether it's safety in schools, whether it's budgeting, it is time for us to take on that responsibility as a ministry and make sure that the system that we expect is what we deliver.' He said supervisors will look at things such as unfunded programs, reducing bureaucracy or redeploying principals who aren't working in schools, and if structural budgetary issues are found, they will also be addressed. What does placing an Ontario school board under supervision look like? Toronto school board pools are not provincially funded, an issue Calandra said he is sympathetic to because of their history in the city, 'and where there's a shortfall in our funding, if that model needs to change, then we'll be able to do that.' Both the Toronto boards and Dufferin-Peel have been placed under supervision under previous Conservative and Liberal governments, with Toronto public in 2002, Dufferin-Peel in 2007 and Toronto Catholic in 2008. In April, Calandra put the Thames Valley District School Board under supervision, saying Friday there's been 'incredible progress.' That means five boards are currently under provincial control, a number not seen before. Kathleen Woodcock, president of the Ontario Public School Boards' Association, said that 'trustees want the very best for students and view this as an opportunity to pause, reflect and rebuild together in the best interests of all learners.' Her association 'also looks forward to engaging directly with the supervisors to help surface and share strong practices from school boards across the province — practices the minister himself has acknowledged.' Michael Bellmore, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association, noted Calandra said 'most boards across Ontario are doing the right thing' and that 'we look forward to ongoing discussions with Minister Calandra and Ministry of Education officials regarding the unique circumstances of certain school boards, as well as challenges associated with rising sick leave costs, special education and student transportation funding.' The province is spending $30.3 billion on education for the coming school year, $2 billion for school upgrades and $1.3 billion for new schools. The school boards' association has said that per-pupil funding since the Ford government took power in 2018 has dropped (when adjusted to 2018 dollars), leaving a $693-million gap for the province's 31 English public boards alone. Calandra had sent investigators into the boards to examine their finances, and said Toronto public trustees had rejected about half of all savings proposed by senior board officials, and had a projected $58 million deficit for 2025-6. Toronto Catholic board Trustee Maria Rizzo wants to see how the province balances the books without affecting students and programs, such as international language instruction. 'If they think that they can do this better, let them try. Let them do their own dirty work,' she said. 'They don't give us enough money for special education and they don't give us money for any of the Catholic programs.' Rizzo said 'I get paid a nickel an hour — it doesn't hurt me. My problem is that the constituents I represent in my community won't be able to come to me and I can't address any of the issues.' Chair de Domenico said for the province to 'appoint a high-powered, high-priced lawyer to run a board with the idea of saving money is in itself ironic. It is not democratic. This is an attempt by the minister to take over the entire system and remove the public voice.' He said the board was 'caught up in this maelstrom of frenzy here to exert control over what should be a democratic institution.' Meanwhile, Calandra is also pausing for one year curriculum updates that were to be implemented this fall, including in literacy, math and STEM in kindergarten and history in grades 7, 8 and 10 to give teachers additional time to become familiar with the material and create lessons.
National Post
2 days ago
- Climate
- National Post
Chris Selley: Let the kids sweat a little. Schools have bigger problems than A/C
In 2018, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) staff estimated the cost of air conditioning all its schools at roughly $400 million — so, nearly $500 million in 2025 dollars — plus millions more in annual maintenance and electricity bills. It described the task as 'virtually impossible.' Last week, the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) staff pegged the cost to air condition its own schools at $200 million, while describing the job as only 'relatively impossible.' Article content Article content By rights, those numbers — which you can safely double to get nearer the actual cost — would put the issue to bed. But they are back in the news because it was quite hot in southern Ontario and Quebec for two days this week. And some people are remarkably passionate about a lack of air conditioning, at least once or twice a year. '(Students) have to endure real harms to their well-being,' we read in the Toronto Star. 'A temperature-safe environment should be a given. A right,' we read in The Globe and Mail. Article content Article content But surely all would agree the TDSB, HWDSB and every other Canadian school board has far bigger priorities than saving students and staff a few days of discomfort in late June and early September. Certainly our Junes and Septembers are getting warmer on average, but the temperatures we saw in Toronto this week — a high of 35 C on Monday and Tuesday — were not unprecedented in the time before air conditioning. Article content We coped. We should be able to cope even better now that we don't have to live all day long in the sweltering heat: Even if we don't have air conditioning at home, there are public places to go for a break. Article content Article content I can just hear people saying, 'nothing is too expensive for our kids.' If nothing were too expensive for our kids, relatively wealthy parents wouldn't be donating all sorts of supplies to their kids' public schools. (Ironically, one of the things parents can't donate is air conditioners. The board cites concerns over the electricity supply and — more dubiously — proper installation.) Article content Article content In real life, money is finite. And there would be tremendous opportunity costs to spending $500 million (or likely far more) on alleviating a few days of moistened brows, not even once every year. You don't have to think $500 million is a reasonable estimate — it probably isn't — but you should be 100 per cent sure it would get spent. The TDSB pays $150 to install a pencil sharpener, for heaven's sake. Article content I was curious how the media covered Toronto's all-time record heat wave, in 1936. 'Heat toll 22 dead; mercury reaches 103.7 (F),' was the Toronto Daily Star's banner headline on July 10. We have a right to live better than we did in 1936 — and we do! — but perhaps that puts things in some perspective.
National Post
2 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Ontario government takes over TDSB, three other school boards, citing 'mismanagement'
The Ontario government announced it will be appointing supervisors to oversee four school board districts in the province after an investigation raised concerns about the financial stability of the institutions. Article content The affected boards include some of the largest in the province, including Toronto (TDSB), Toronto Catholic (TCDSB), Ottawa-Carleton (OCDSB) and Dufferin-Peel (DPCDSB). Article content 'Each of these boards has failed in its responsibilities to parents and students by losing sight of its core mission — ensuring student success,' Minister of Education said Paul Calandra said in a news release Friday. Article content Article content The ministry's press release said an investigation into the four school boards revealed 'instances of mismanagement and poor decision-making that put its long-term financial health at risk.' The government said the TDSB has rejected nearly half of the cost-saving measures management has recommended over the past two years and the board relies heavily on proceeds from asset sales to balance its books. Article content Toronto Catholic 'is at risk of default in the coming years' after tripling its deficit, compared with the prior school year, the announcement reads. Meanwhile, Ottawa-Carleton 'depleted its reserves, incurred an accumulated deficit,' the government wrote, noting that the board plans to offset the deficit 'from asset sales to balance its books.' Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, meanwhile, is 'at the brink of bankruptcy,' Calandra said. Article content Article content The audit of OCDSB and TDSB, according to the provincial government, was overseen by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), while Deloitte conducted the investigation of TCDSB. Article content Article content Chandra Pasma, the education critic for the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP), condemned the move calling it 'nothing short of a power grab.' Article content Pasma blamed the Ford government which 'has chronically underfunded our education system,' that will undermine the schooling of students. Article content Calandra framed the announcement as a step toward financial propriety and a better long-term investment in local schools. Article content '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.'
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Ontario taking over 4 school boards, including TDSB, following spending probes
Education Minister Paul Calandra speaks during Question Period at Queen's Park in Toronto on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston Ontario's education minister is 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. Paul Calandra made the announcement on Friday and said 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. He said supervisors will be assigned to each board to address the alleged misspending, growing deficits and depleting reserves. According to the government, the TDSB has rejected 46 per cent of proposed cost-savings brought forward by management and also relies 'heavily on unsustainable proceeds' from asset sales to balance its books. Meanwhile, the TCDSB tripled its in-year deficit compared to last year and is at risk of default in 'the coming years,' the ministry said. The province also said that the OCDSB has 'completely depleted its reserves' and the DPCDSB is at risk of financial default by August 31, 2025. Investigations into spending at the school boards in Toronto and Ottawa were launched by Ontario's education ministry in April. The financial probe at the Peel board started in June. Previously, the government appointed a supervisor to the Thames Valley District School Board for alleged misspending, which included a staff retreat to Toronto that cost about $40,000. It also ordered the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board to repay the cost of a trip to Italy, where four trustees spent $100,000 on art for schools. Last month, Calandra threatened to take over the finances of the Toronto District School Board if it didn't get its spending in order. Officials with the city's largest school board said at the time that the province was 'deflecting' its responsibility in launching the financial probe, as it said its schools were being underfunded. TDSB trustees have since passed a budget that would eliminate its $34.4 million deficit over the next two years. The TDSB has not yet commented on the change. The province previously announced a record $30.3 billion in funding for schools next year, but teachers' unions argued at the time that the funding doesn't go far enough. With files from The Canadian Press
CBC
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Ontario taking control of 4 school boards, including TDSB
Social Sharing Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra says the province has taken control of four more school boards. He says the province has appointed supervisors to the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board. Calandra says the moves come after a recommendation following financial investigations of the boards showed growing deficits, depletion of reserves and ongoing mismanagement. In April, the province took control of the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board over similar financial concerns. That came after an investigation found four school trustees racked up a $190,000 bill on a trip to Italy to buy art for new schools. Calandra says the boards have failed parents and students.
