The chair of the local Catholic school board is expressing concerns over sweeping changes that are planned for school board governance in Ontario.
In legislation tabled at Queen’s Park on Monday, the Education Ministry is proposing capping the number of elected board trustees, reducing trustee budget responsibilities, and nearly eliminating their role in central bargaining.
John Van Heck, chair of the St. Clair Catholic District School Board, said the proposed legislation will have serious negative ramifications for community representation in Ontario schools.
“The roles really seem like they’re going to be diminished to an advisory type position, with little or no authority going forward,” he said. “Our parents and our constituents should be concerned about local representation being taken away from them and all of their concerns being taken care of by a [governing] body out of Queen’s Park.”
Also included in the province’s the “Putting Student Achievement First Act” is the creation of two new leadership roles — a Chief Executive Officer responsible for financial and operational oversight and Chief Education Officer focusing on student achievement.
With local bargaining being shifted from trustees to CEOs, Van Heck said he foresees the governance system becoming very adversarial.
“I don’t know how a CEO is going to go back to the St. Clair Catholic District School Board and manage a system if they have a union on there that felt they did not get the deal they wanted,” he said.
Van Heck added that parents and caregivers in Ontario need to be made aware of how a business‑style management structure is being imposed on public education.
“It works very differently than a publicly funded education system. I don’t think we want our schools run like a stock holder organization,” he said. “It should never be run like a for-profit institution.”
Should the legislation pass as it is, Van Heck said he anticipates that the Ontario government will likely face legal challenges due to the impacts to student curriculums and on collective bargaining rights.
“It’s just a whole lot of sweeping changes that I don’t believe they understand ramifications, nor does the public understand the ramifications of what’s going to happen to education,” he said.
The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario has also voiced its opposition to the legislation, calling the education overhaul an “unprecedented rollback of local democracy.”