The Renfrew County Catholic District School Board is raising concerns regarding the provincial government’s recent moves to reduce and change the roles of elected school board trustees.
Several school boards are currently under supervision by the provincial government due to a variety of concerns surrounding issues like financial management.
According to a press release from the RCCDSB, recent signals from the government suggest that “publicly elected school board trustees may be removed from the ballot entirely” in the municipal elections scheduled for later this year, or have their roles reduced to “a mere formality.”
Bob Schraeder, the Chair of the RCCDSB, elaborated further in an interview the morning of April 1st.
Schraeder said that the RCCDSB’s EQAO scores are among the best in the province, so the Minister of Education doesn’t have reason to be concerned about student success within the board.
Schraeder also said RCCDSB schools saw 91 per cent of students pass their Ontario Secondary Student Literacy Tests, six per cent more than the provincial average. He said those strong results come from the strategic plan that was created by the RCCDSB’s elected trustees, and questioned why the province would want to dismantle a system that he feels is working very well.
According to Schraeder, a one-size-fits-all system from Queen’s Park won’t work for small schools in areas like Killaloe and Chalk River. He called on Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP Billy Denault to champion communities in the region and ensure that their right to local representation doesn’t go away.
When tapped for comment, Denault offered the following statement:
A full list of school boards considered “under supervision” by the provincial government can be found here.
(Written by Steve Berard)
