More GTA school boards are under provincial supervision due to “in-fighting and long-term financial unsustainability”
Education Minister Paul Calandra has appointed supervisors for the Peel District and York Catholic school boards
Education Minister Paul Calandra has now placed eight Ontario school boards under provincial supervision, citing governance issues as his justification.
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“After careful review, it is clear that both Peel and York Catholic are facing serious challenges that they cannot resolve on their own,” Calandra said in a media release, which went on to describe “in-fighting and long-term financial unsustainability that risk disrupting learning and undermining student outcomes.”
Calandra’s decision follows numerous other school board takeovers in recent months. “I have appointed supervisors to restore sound management, strengthen oversight and ensure every decision is focused on protecting student learning and success,” he said.
Management consultant Heather Watt has been appointed for Peel, and for York Catholic, Carrie Kormos, an adviser who is also a director for Invest Ontario and the Canadian Gaming Association.
NDP MPP Chandra Pasma opposed Calandra’s decision, arguing that experience in education should be prioritized when hiring for the education sector.
“It’s nearly impossible to see how this decision will help students. Instead of bringing in experienced educators who understand classrooms and student needs, Minister Calandra has handed control to former Conservative government staffers, one of whom is a casino executive and a Harris-era chief of staff,” she said in a statement. “The other one of his appointees headed up the Ministry of Long-Term care during the pandemic, when seniors were losing their lives in horrible conditions. Is this who Minister Calandra wants in charge of our schools?”
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
