"Ontario's education minister placed a seventh school board under supervision Wednesday in order to prevent dozens of teachers from being laid off, he says, and he is planning to soon take control of another board over financial concerns. Paul Calandra announced that he has put Peel District School Board under supervision and is giving the York Catholic District School Board two weeks to make a case for avoiding the same fate."
""Mid-way through the year, they were planning on laying off teachers and moving around classrooms and impacting students," he said in an interview. "You can just imagine what that does in schools, and the chaos it causes for students, let alone parents who built a relationship, and obviously (affects) the teachers as well." The Peel board now has two weeks to respond to Calandra's concerns and after that point he will make a decision on whether to end the supervision. But if it continues, he will at that time appoint a supervisor."
"The York Catholic board has depleted its reserves, refused to submit a "realistic financial recovery plan" and has had seven directors of education in nine years, he said. Critics have said that Calandra's moves to take over school boards and sideline trustees erodes local democracy, and they say boards are in dire financial shape because provincial funding is not keeping up with increasing needs or inflation."
Peel District School Board was placed under provincial supervision to prevent the planned layoff of 60 teachers that would have affected about 1,400 students. York Catholic District School Board has been given two weeks to present reasons to avoid supervision. Peel has run a deficit for five consecutive years, raising concerns about long-term financial sustainability. York Catholic has depleted reserves, declined to submit a realistic financial recovery plan and has had seven directors of education in nine years. Critics argue provincial takeovers erode local democracy and blame inadequate provincial funding for boards' fiscal struggles. Broader governance changes are reportedly under consideration.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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