Ford government takes over northern Ontario school board

A month after ordering a northern Ontario school board to resolve what a report called overwhelming dysfunction, the provincial government says it’s taking control.

Education Minister Paul Calandra made the announcement on Monday, saying he was placing the Near North District School Board under provincial supervision.

“I will not stand by while a board’s incompetence directly impacts student achievement,” Calandra said in a release. “This decisive action should serve as a warning to any board that is failing in its responsibility to put students first.”

Calandra went on to say he’s putting school boards “on notice” that under the Supporting Children and Students Act that became law last month, he has the ability to assume control where there is “clear mismanagement.”

The move by Calandra comes one month after he ordered the school board to take immediate steps to resolve issues outlined in a ministry report, which found a “deficit of leadership” from the director of education and a fractured relationship between the administration and trustees.

“Under the current leadership of the board of trustees and the director of education, I do not see a viable path forward in which this school board is governing and leading in a manner that restores public trust and confidence,” reviewer Rachel Osborne wrote.

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Osborne also said in her report she believed ministry intervention was warranted.

The minister issued several binding directives in his order in October, including a professional development plan for board members and retaining an external expert to help them conduct a performance review for the director of education.

He said his 15 directives take effect immediately or give the board a narrow timeframe of between five to 15 business days to comply.

According to the ministry on Monday, the board failed to comply with 10 directives within the timelines set, prompting the decision to place it under supervision.

A supervisor to oversee the board will be named soon, but Calandra will be providing supervision in the interim.

The Near North District School Board is the sixth board that the provincial government has placed under its supervision since its legislation became law, with some of the province’s biggest in Ottawa, Toronto and Peel also under the direct control of Queen’s Park.

—with files from Global News’ Isaac Callan and The Canadian Press

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