A month after ordering a northern Ontario school board to fix what a report called serious dysfunction, the provincial government says it is taking control of the board.
Education Minister Paul Calandra announced Monday that the Near North District School Board will now be under provincial supervision.
“I will not stand by while a board’s incompetence hurts student achievement,” Calandra said in a statement. “This action should warn any board that fails to put students first.”
Calandra reminded boards that under the new Supporting Children and Students Act, which became law last month, he can take over a board if there is “clear mismanagement.”
His decision comes one month after he told the board to quickly address problems highlighted in a ministry report. The report found a “lack of leadership” from the director of education and a broken relationship between administrators and trustees.
Reviewer Rachel Osborne wrote that she did not see a “viable path forward” with the board’s current leadership and that ministry intervention was needed.
In October, Calandra issued binding instructions that included training for board members and hiring an outside expert to help review the director of education’s performance. He said these directives had to be followed right away or within five to 15 business days.
On Monday, the ministry said the board failed to meet 10 of the directives on time, leading to the decision to put it under supervision.
A supervisor will be appointed soon, but Calandra will oversee the board until then.
The Near North District School Board is now the sixth school board placed under provincial supervision since the new law passed. Major boards in Ottawa, Toronto, and Peel are also currently under direct provincial control.
