Former Near North District School Board trustee calls on province to protect school boards

After the province dissolved the trustee board at the Near North school board, one of the sidelined trustees has started a petition to maintain the system.

A former trustee with the Near North District School Board who was removed from office when the board was taken over by the province has started a petition opposing the removal of democratically elected trustees from their positions.

Bill Steer plans to send the petition to Education Minister Paul Calandra and Premier Doug Ford. It’s called ‘Keep School Board Trustees as Elected Officials in Ontario,’ and it had close to 500 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.

Steer said trustees are a “vital link” between Ontario communities and schools that advocate for the needs of students and parents while ensuring local voices influence public education decision-making.

“Democracy is under attack and we can’t be trumped within our own province,” Steer said Thursday afternoon.

“We can’t let this go by the wayside.”

Calandra said late last year that he will decide soon on changes to the role of trustees in the school system, but he signalled he’s inclined to eliminate their role.

The petition is also supported by former board chair Jay Aspin, who was chair for just 13 days before the government took control of the board.

‘Honour the voice of citizens’

Aspin said he wrote a letter to Ford because he wants him to “honour the voice of citizens in our 72 public school districts by rejecting the minister’s musings about terminating a system of public representation in Ontario that have served us well for 185 years.”

The embattled Near North board came under fire after a new $58 million JK-Grade 12 high school in Parry Sound didn’t open as scheduled in September. Parents weren’t informed until August and high school students had to start the year with remote learning.

The incident led to a provincial investigation that found the board was dysfunctional, with an education director who didn’t communicate or provide leadership and squabbling trustees who didn’t understand their role.

While major changes were needed, Steer said the province went too far.

“With regards to the Parry Sound build, yes, he had good reason to say ‘Hey, we have to get the Near North Board in a better direction.’ That’s why he did the review,” Steer said.

“He didn’t have to take over the board and provide supervision like the other boards in southern Ontario, which all had different reasons for those takeovers … All of a sudden, the guillotine came down.”

Aspin is worried the province is using the Near North board as an excuse to make sweeping changes he doesn’t believe are necessary.

“Don’t blame all the problems in education on trustees,” Aspin wrote in a brief statement to CTV News.

“He is using that as a distraction. It is not justified and misleading.”

Six Ontario school boards, including the Near North, are currently under provincial supervision, an authority the province gave itself by passing the contentious Bill 33 last year.

Wednesday morning, Calandra announced he had terminated the agreement with Van Horne Construction Ltd., the contractor building the mega school. He said he hopes to find a new one that will ensure it is ready to open this September.

“This decision follows serious concerns about the progress and delivery of a project that is critical to students and families in the Parry Sound community,” Calandra said.

“It became clear that this project was not on a stable or credible path to completion, leaving students learning in outdated classrooms … My priority is ensuring this project is brought back on track. I will ensure strong oversight as the board moves quickly to secure a new contractor and deliver a safe, modern school for students without further delay.”

CTV News has reached out to Calandra’s office for a response to the petition, but did not receive a reply.