“I think everybody deserves some certainty,” Calandra told\u00a0CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on\u00a0Friday. “I’m 100 per cent looking at the elimination of the trustee position.”<\/p>\n
The idea\u00a0has drawn opposition from parents and other politicians, who say removing trustees\u00a0leaves families without an official advocate<\/a>.<\/p>\n WATCH | Calandra faces backlash over idea to cut school trustees:\u00a0<\/strong> Ontario’s plan to eliminate school board trustees sparks criticism <\/p>\n As kids in Toronto head back to school, former trustees say the province doesn’t have the same intimate knowledge of individual schools that trustees have, and that removing them would strip parents of their democratic power. CBC’s Lorenda Reddekopp explains.<\/p>\n Calandra says his plan will help bring more resources into the classroom, end division within school boards and make it easier for parents to access the system.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the province appointed supervisors to take over five school boards, including the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Toronto Catholic District School Board (TDSB) and Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB).<\/p>\n The province said the takeovers were in response to financial mismanagement\u00a0within the boards that supervisors will help to get back in order.<\/p>\n “The ones that we have taken over have had challenges by and large, where trustees have just refused to make the right decision,” Calandra\u00a0said. He said\u00a0trustees failed to maintain surpluses and took money out of classrooms.\u00a0<\/p>\n Supervisors will ‘deliver a better product’: Calandra<\/p>\n Several parents, teachers and trustees have argued financial mismanagement isn’t the problem<\/a>, but rather\u00a0chronic underfunding\u00a0of education from the province.\u00a0In a\u00a0report last year<\/a>, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that Ontario’s core education funding has dropped by $1,500 per student since 2018, a figure the government has disputed.<\/p>\n Province-appointed supervisors will\u00a0look at whether\u00a0the “funding formula” is causing challenges, Calandra\u00a0said. If that’s the case, he said\u00a0the ministry will review funding for school boards.\u00a0<\/p>\n But\u00a0“a vast majority” of Ontario’s school boards are running with a balanced budget or\u00a0with surpluses,\u00a0Calandra said.<\/p>\n While supervisors have\u00a0been tasked with balancing school board\u00a0budgets, Calandra said\u00a0they will not do so\u00a0at the expense\u00a0of classroom education and important programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Get in there and deliver a better product for our teachers and their students. And [the supervisors] are doing that,” Calandra\u00a0said.<\/p>\n Calandra\u00a0said\u00a0he’s not considering the elimination of school boards, but the province will continue to take over supervision\u00a0if needed.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757116574_670_default.jpg\")
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