Grebenc urges people to contact their MPP to preserve elected trustees as their community’s voice in education.

By Gazette Staff

September 2nd, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

Former Halton District School Board Chair Andréa Grebenc is warning that recent signals from Education Minister Paul Calandra and the Premier about removing elected school board trustees would silence community voices, weaken accountability, and widen the opening for inequities and privatization in Ontario’s education system.

“Trustees are not ceremonial figures,” said Grebenc, who served eight years as trustee and four as chair. “They are elected officials with legislated responsibilities under Ontario’s Education Act — responsibilities that directly affect students every day.”

Trustees’ core duties include prioritizing student achievement and well-being, developing and monitoring policies, exercising fiduciary and resource stewardship, overseeing the Director of Education, representing and communicating with their communities, and serving on mandatory committees such as Special Education and Audit.

“These responsibilities translate into real decisions — from ensuring resources reach children with special needs, to holding boards accountable through audits, to shaping policies that reflect local community values,” Grebenc added.

Trustees Hold Governments Accountable

Trustees have repeatedly brought forward community voices when government announcements lacked evidence. In 2019, Halton trustees raised alarms about the government’s plan to move 25,000 children with autism into public schools with almost no notice and no resources. Their advocacy sparked protests and forced the province to back down.

That same year, when the province proposed larger class sizes and mandatory eLearning, Halton trustees organized one of the largest community consultations in Ontario. Nearly 7,000 parents responded, overwhelmingly rejecting the plan. The report was cited in Question Period, and the government scaled back its proposals.

“This is a clear pattern,” said Grebenc. “The province makes sweeping changes without evidence, and trustees are the ones who analyze the local impact on schools, student achievement, and well-being. Without trustees, these changes go unchallenged.”

Concerns About Unelected Supervisors

Grebenc also raised concerns about unelected supervisors appointed by the province to oversee boards.

Andrea Grebenc: “Education is a government service meant to be comprehensive, effective, and equitable.”

“The supervisors currently in place overwhelmingly come from financial and legal backgrounds, not education. They are paid exorbitant amounts, yet deliver no clear outcomes or benefits over the democratic system already in place,” said Grebenc. “Education is a government service meant to be comprehensive, effective, and equitable. With a calculated 30 per cent return on investment, weakening the system through political appointments should concern every Ontarian.”

Trustees Defend Communities

Trustees are often the most effective line of defence against short-sighted provincial priorities. The province has already shown interest in selling off prime school land to developers without considering long-term needs.

“Eliminating trustees would not solve Ontario’s education challenges,” said Grebenc. “It would silence local voices, weaken accountability, and turn schools into political assets rather than places of learning. Trustees fight for students, families, and communities. Without them, public education would lose its vital connection to the people it is meant to serve.”

We will be interviewing Grebenc later today.  When she was Chair of the HDSB she was very effective.