School board trustees see drastic changes to the position

Significant changes have occurred in the school board trustee position since the last election cycle, leading some trustees to forgo reelection.

The power that a school board trustee holds has been drastically slashed following recent changes made by Education Minister Paul Calandra. Changes affect the English Public and Catholic boards, though the school trustees’ positions from the French school boards have remained largely intact.

Previously, trustees had the authority to hire or fire the board’s top executive without requiring provincial intervention and to directly address challenges teachers, students, and parents face in public education. Now trustees have lost their autonomy to fire the executive and now need the minister’s approval.

In addition, their main role of communicating with parents and students within the school board has also been dramatically reduced.

Members of the public can still reach out to their local trustee with concerns or comments. However, Calandra has directed all boards of education to establish a Student and Family Support Office that will assume many of the trustees’ responsibilities, mainly receiving and responding to most parent and student concerns. As a result of cuts to responsibility, the school board trustee honorarium (compensation) will be lowered to under $10,000 annually.

Calandra has also eliminated the traditional Director of Education role within each board and replaced it with two new positions: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Education Officer. The CEO will be responsible for financial oversight and will appoint the Chief Education Officer, who will focus on student achievement.