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Trustees: “Perhaps no political office is more important”

August 9, 2015

Sachin Maharaj is a PhD student in educational policy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto and is a teacher in the Toronto District School Board. She wrote the following opinion piece for the Toronto Star, which was published August 6:

Kim Campbell, Mike Harris, Kathleen Wynne, and Olivia Chow. What do all of these politicians have in common? They are members of a long and ever-growing list of former school trustees who left their school boards for other (some would say higher) political office.

And now you can add Shaun Chen, the chair of the Toronto District School Board, to that list. Chen recently resigned his post as leader of Canada’s largest school board, less than a year after assuming the position, in order to run for the Liberals in the upcoming federal election. And trustees don’t just leave for Ottawa. Both Toronto City Hall and Queen’s Park contain several former school trustees. So why is it that so many people abandon their jobs as school trustees and instead seem to use the position as a political launching pad?

One big reason is that despite being structured by the province as a quasi-volunteer position, being a good school trustee is a lot of work. According to my own recent study, the average school trustee in Ontario spends about 20 hours per week responding to parent concerns, visiting schools, attending parent councils, on top of official board and committee meetings.

In large school boards, like the TDSB, this time commitment extends to over 30 hours per week. But despite requiring the hours of between half to three-quarters of a full-time job, trustees are paid a pittance. The average trustee in Ontario gets paid $11,468, which works out to around minimum wage on an hourly basis. Is it any wonder then that so many leave?

Of course some critics might say that trustees are not expected to subsist on the meagre compensation they receive, but are instead expected to have other full-time employment. But given the time demands of the role, most trustees report that this is “almost impossible.” Indeed, only one-third of school trustees are employed full-time. As one trustee put it, “I could not do this job if I were employed professionally.” Another indicated that they had “left a part time-job due to time commitment as trustee.” And as most of a trustee’s work takes place in the evenings, this can take a toll on family life as well. One trustee sadly recounted, “My children miss me. I rarely see them in the evenings during the week.”

But another reason that many trustees leave is due to increased feelings of impotence, as provincial governments of all stripes have stripped away more and more of their autonomy.

It started when the Harris government removed the ability of school boards to levy tax increases to fund local needs. While this benefited smaller, rural school boards with less ability to raise money, it has been a disaster for the TDSB, which currently faces a repair backlog of over $3 billion. The Wynne government continued this trend of undermining school boards with the introduction of Regulation 274, which removed the ability of boards to hire the best teachers. Indeed, in a recent survey of over 2,000 principals from across Ontario, over 94 per cent stated that Regulation 274 had prevented them from hiring teachers that best meet the needs of their school and its students.

So if we want to attract the highest quality candidates as school trustees, and prevent them from jumping ship, the solution is obvious. We need to pay trustees well, treat them with respect and give them the autonomy they require to best serve the students in their communities.

Then perhaps more people will be school trustees solely because they care about the job, instead of seeing it as a stepping stone. And given that the job of school trustees is overseeing the education of our children, perhaps no political office is more important.

If you don’t ask, you don’t get

August 6, 2015

Right up until the writ dropped this past Sunday, Stephen Harper was doling out money to entice Canada’s electorate, including $150-million for improving public infrastructure such as arenas, parks and community centres through the Canada 150 Infrastructure Program. Now in campaign mode, he made his first big-ticket promise this week – a home renovation tax credit that would cost an estimated $1.5-billion/year by providing a 15% tax credit to homeowners for any renovations worth between $1,000 and $5,000.  moreconfident7-21_0

We, the voters, must ensure that our elected politicians at every level of government prioritize spending to align with our values. In a nutshell, we must ask for what we want.

As a Canadian, you very likely value quality public eduction – and its associated societal and economic benefits. Certainly, if politicians asked, you would tell them that you want to see public schools in a state of good repair for the 5-million Canadian children who spend 6-hours/day in these buildings.

Unfortunately, the sad reality is that public schools across this country are crumbling. While there are examples of state-of-the-art public schools, an unacceptable number of public schools across the country need massive repairs. In Ontario schools alone, there are $15-billion of outstanding repairs and in Vancouver, public schools need approximately $1-billion of seismic upgrades to ensure they are safe in case of earthquakes, and there are hundreds of millions of dollars in outstanding maintenance in public schools across British Columbia

So, as this federal election unfolds and you have an opportunity to speak with candidates, let them know you consider public schools to be a critical element of our societal infrastructure – certainly on par with arenas, community centres and parks but also on par with transit, roads and healthcare. Let federal candidates know  that you want money to be spent on repairing and rebuilding Canada’s public schools. We know that traditionally in Canada, the Federal government hasn’t provided any funding for building or repairing public schools. However, since it seems there is money in the Federal coffers these days, if you value public schools – now is the right time to ask. If you don’t ask – you don’t get!

 

“School should be a second home to students – not a place where boilers break down, ceilings fall in and toilets break”

July 27, 2015

From Spencer Higdon-McGreal, Grade 12 TDSB Student at Ursula Franklin: 

In school there are many things students learn to adapt to: peer pressure, the stress of looming deadlines, the anticipation of summer break and, trying to stay focused while your school is crumbling around you. For many students in the Toronto District School Board, decay and subsequent lack of working mechanics, electronics, structure is known all too well. As a grade 12 student, I have been in three different schools over a span of 14 years: Garden Ave. P.S. for JK-Grade 6, Fern Ave. P.S. for Grade 7-8 and Ursula Franklin Academy for Grades 9-12. I’ve seen first-hand how desperately our schools need repairs.

For the past four years at my high school I cannot remember a winter when our boiler didn’t break at least once, sometimes for multiple days, leaving students freezing and unable to focus. Now this is a big enough problem on its own, but when I add the fact that this happened almost every winter over my 14 years at school it become inexcusable! I remember a couple of years ago sitting in a classroom with every student and the teacher, wearing their outdoor winter clothing. No one was able to focus during the whole class – we certainly struggled to take notes while wearing gloves!

School should be a second home to students, not a place where boilers break down, ceilings fall in, and toilets break! Today’s students are tomorrow’s future leaders and contributors, and they need and deserve the best education they can get. With the enormous amount of problems in our schools, students aren’t given the best. The Ontario government can do better, and must do better.

How to successfully meet Ontario’s infrastructure needs?

July 20, 2015

Barry Steinberg is CEO of the Consulting Engineers of Ontario, which represents the interests of 200 engineering firms. He offered the following insight about how Ontario can successfully meet our future infrastructure needs in a recent Globe & Mail editorial:

“Successfully meeting Ontario’s infrastructure needs will only happen as a result of sound planning supported by consistent investment from dedicated revenue streams, not on a project-to-project basis.”

When will TDSB Governance Panel issue recommendations?

July 17, 2015

Fix Our Schools sent the following letter to the TDSB Governance Panel on Monday, July 13:

Dear TDSB Governance Panel,

We continue to be concerned that the TDSB Governance Panel did not consider how provincial funding and provincial policies impact the governance of the TDSB. Upon reading the scathing review of Donna Quan’s leadership by Margaret Wilson, among others, in Friday’s Globe & Mail, we are also concerned that the TDSB Governance consultations did not examine the important role that leadership plays in TDSB’s governance. Instead, the TDSB Governance consultations focused primarily on the role of TDSB Trustees and the size of the TDSB.

Given these concerns, we are anxious to hear your panel’s recommendations. Could you kindly let us know the date when you plan to issue those recommendations to Minister Sandals?

The Fix Our Schools campaign represents a large and growing number of parents in Toronto who want to see safe, well-maintained public schools. Of course, these same parents are also interested in good governance. However, every one of Ontario’s 72 public school boards has a capital repair backlog for a total of $14.7-billion, which suggests that something in the overall governance of public education in this province is simply not working and that additional funding sources must be found.

We trust that any recommendations made by the TDSB Governance Panel will:

• get to the heart of the issues at the TDSB

• respect the fact that this new board of Trustees has had scant time to actually govern

• keep the best interests of TDSB students and families in mind

Kind regards,

Krista Wylie – On Behalf of Fix Our Schools

Fix Our Schools will keep subscribers posted on what we hear back from the TDSB Governance Panel about their recommendations.

TDSB in the news again: Scathing review of TDSB Director

July 13, 2015

The TDSB is in the news again. On July 10, the Globe and Mail published an article in which TDSB Director Donna Quan was accused of “ruling by fear” and of engaging in “destructive attacks against Trustees”. The source for many of these accusations appears to have been Margaret Wilson, who was brought in by the Province over six months ago to investigate the TDSB because the Education Minister was concerned about a “culture of fear” among staff. 

In case you haven’t been following the goings-on between the Province and the TDSB since late November 2014, here is a “Coles Notes” version:

As parents, we want to see a quality education for our children delivered in safe, well-maintained schools. The Province holds power over the funding and all major policies impacting public education in this province. The Province has engaged in a multitude of short-term interventions with the TDSB in recent years, none of which seem to have had significant positive results. As we await the recommendations from the TDSB Governance Panel – the Province’s latest intervention in the TDSB –  we, yet again, urge Premier Wynne and Minister Sandals to take the accountability that is commensurate with the power their government has over public education and to start to work with the TDSB to Fix Our Schools.

Power and accountability are key

July 7, 2015

In 1997, Mike Harris introduced the provincial funding formula in Ontario, which gave the Province the power over the funding of public education. Economist Hugh Mackenzie has been studying this education funding formula since its inception. He has written several scathing reports on the formula.

In Mackenzie’s latest report, he emphasizes that students from across Ontario have been shortchanged by the Province for almost two decades. He also highlights the issue of accountability in the provincial funding formula, stating that while the Province holds power over the allocation of funds, the Province is not held accountable for the adequacy of the funding it provides to the education system as whole in Ontario. Mackenzie states, “Even Mike Harris recognized that provincial funding created an accountability gap, and committed to a five-year review cycle. Eighteen years later, the Eves government’s 2002 review is the only one we’ve had.”

With great power comes great responsibility…

Ten years hence, TDSB schools continue to deteriorate

July 3, 2015

In October 2005, TDSB Staff wrote and presented “Schools for the Future: A 10 Year Facility Infrastructure Plan for the TDSB”, which painted a dire picture of the state of disrepair in TDSB schools and even suggested that schools may need to close due to disrepair.

Sections 2.2.1 & 2.2.2 of this report, “Current and Forecast Conditions of TDSB Facilities”, read as follows: “Putting off necessary renewal projects, year in and year out, has created a growing and costly backlog. There’s an increasing demand for facility maintenance and repairs as a result of deteriorating facility conditions. The numbers of calls for emergencies and unanticipated breakdowns are increasing. Requests for repairs account for 80% of work orders, while preventive maintenance now represents only 20% of work orders. The normal average wait time for maintenance requests is seven weeks. The Ministry of Education recognized the need for additional funding to correct deficiencies in building conditions. Increased funding for building renewal was distributed through a Ministry program called ‘Good Places to Learn.’ This renewal funding only temporarily halted the trend of deteriorating facility conditions. At the current level (2005) of renewal funding of $44 million annually, the condition of TDSB buildings will continue to decline rapidly, making it increasingly difficult to keep schools open.”

Almost ten years have passed since this report was prepared and TDSB schools continue to deteriorate. Although provincial funding for school repairs has increased since 2005 to $75-million/year for 2014/15 and will increase to $156-million in the 2015/16 school year, the money received by the TDSB to address the $3.3-billion of disrepair in its schools is still insufficient. To date, no TDSB schools have closed due to safety issues but one wonders what the next ten years will hold.

Conversation starters and questions for the federal election

June 28, 2015

Throughout the federal election campaign, you will likely have many opportunities to speak with candidates and MP’s. We encourage you to take the opportunity to let them know you consider public schools an integral part of our public infrastructure.  

Potential conversation starters:

Potential questions:

  • Do you view public schools as an important part of this country’s public infrastructure?
  • Would you consider accessing federal infrastructure dollars to address disrepair in Canada’s public schools?
  • Given the almost $15-billion in outstanding repairs plaguing Ontario public schools, what advice would you give to the provincial government regarding funding for public schools in this province?

We hope this makes it easy for you to engage with politicians during this federal election campaign. Please email us additional questions or conversation starters to share!

“My son’s classroom was twelve degrees this winter”

June 28, 2015

From Krista, parent of two children at Runnymede P.S., TDSB:

One day this winter, my grade three son told me about an interesting science experiment his class had done at school. Students had been given thermometers to measure the temperature of various classrooms in the school.2015_06_24_Bennett winter coat

His response when I asked him what the temperature had been in his classroom?

“Twelve degrees celsius.”

When I commented that twelve degrees was pretty cold, he replied, “It’s OK Mom, we’ve been wearing our winter coats in class this past week.”

It is  certainly NOT OK to have to wear winter coats while trying to learn and teach – but I admire the resilience of my son and his teacher to continue to learn and teach despite the learning and working conditions!