Ottawa public school board to remain under provincial supervision in September, education minister says

CTV’s Patricia Boal interviews Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra about changes to school boards and what families in Ottawa can expect.

Ottawa’s largest school board will “absolutely” remain under provincial supervision when the new school year begins in September, according to the education minister.

The Ontario government took control of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board last June after the board posted deficit budgets, removing the 12 elected trustees and appointed supervisor Robert Plamondon to oversee the board.

While Education Minister Paul Calandra introduced sweeping changes to school board governance this week, including creating two new roles in school boards to strengthen board finances and governance, he said Plamondon will remain in place at the OCDSB until the “budget is balanced.”

“Until it’s back on track, until the reserves are at a point that they can be run in a sustainable way,” Calandra told CTV News at Six with Patricia Boal.

“And that is unlikely to change, frankly, before the election of new trustees this October. So, the board will still be under supervision for some time.”

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is projecting an $11.5 million budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year, the fifth straight year the board will be in the red.

Calandra introduced the Putting Student Achievement First Act on Monday, which would keep elected trustees at all English public and Catholic school boards, but would impose restrictions on the honorarium and discretionary spending and change their responsibilities for the budget.

Under the proposed changes, the director of education will now be known as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the school board and would be required to have a background in business. The CEO would be responsible for developing and delivering the budget.

A new Chief Education Officer (CEdO) role would be created, who would be required to have “pedagogical qualifications,” including membership in the Ontario College of Teachers. The new CEdO will focus on “advancing student achievement and success using their expertise in effective teaching practices.”

“Trustees will still have a role to play in terms of advocating for their community and parents at the board, but what we’ve done is reduce or eliminate much of the division that was brought on by trustees,” Calandra told CTV News Ottawa.

“Look, Ottawa is a prime example of how trustees can sow division within the community. And since supervision has taken place, the Student Family Resource Office in Ottawa has been doing a great job of responding to parents’ needs in addressing their concerns, as have the superintendents and teachers in the board.”

Boal asked the education minister if he’s concerned some people may not want to serve as a school board trustee given the change in responsibilities.

“I’m fairly certain that in a city the size of Ottawa that there are people that are going to want to put their name forward to be trustees,” Calandra said Tuesday evening.

“If we don’t fill the positions because the board remains under supervision, then the Act allows us to either fill those positions by appointment or to have a byelection to fill the seats.

“So, I’m not worried about finding people who want to remain involved in education, given the fact that the trustees themselves have told me that their main job and the thing that they like best is representing the community and parents’ voice at the board. That function still remains.”

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