By Gazette Staff
August 29th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Ontario NDP Shadow Minister of Education Chandra Pasma made the following statement in response to Ford’s education minister’s comments on Newstalk 1010 about eliminating school board trustees by the end of the year:
“The mask is off. The Minister has made clear he is ready and willing to move quickly to cut parents and communities out from being able to have a say in their children’s education.
“Families deserve accountable, local representation who know their communities and who can stand up for students and parents. This dangerous power grab by Doug Ford and Paul Calandra will mean that parents have nowhere to turn but an out-of-touch minister at Queen’s Park or inexperienced political insiders who don’t have our kids’ best interests in mind.
“What we see in Quebec and Nova Scotia should be a warning sign. Ontario families can’t afford to lose this crucial voice in their education system.
“The Ford government needs to stop this reckless plan before it causes irreparable damage to our schools, our communities, and our children’s future.”
FACT CHECK
Minister of Education will shut down school boards if they are convinced they can get away with it – and at this point, it looks as if they will.
MINISTER’S CLAIM: The Ford government is providing record funding for education.
FACT: Education funding under this government has not kept pace with inflation or enrollment growth. Schools are receiving less funding per student this year than they did in 2018-19 when adjusted for inflation. The total shortfall under this government amounts to $6.3 billion.
MINISTER’S CLAIM: The vast majority of boards across the province are running surpluses.
FACT: The Ministry of Education’s own documents show that 40% of school boards are running a deficit and that the number of boards in deficit is growing under the Conservatives.
MINISTER’S CLAIM: The Minister wants to refocus Professional Development days on helping teachers teach.
FACT: The Minister just imposed a new requirement that all teachers in the province spend a day of Professional Development learning about School Resource Officer programs, whether such a program exists in their board or not.
MINISTER’S CLAIM: Teacher shortages are the result of teacher absenteeism.
FACT: The Ministry of Education’s own documents report that teacher shortages are the result of a growing gap between teacher retirements and student enrollment. WSIB data also shows that injury claims from educators are increasing year over year as rates of violence in our schools are growing.
The Gazette’s coverage of Ontario NDP MPP Chandra Pasma’s warning about eliminating elected school board trustees highlights an issue that deserves more attention than it is getting from local boards themselves.
Before commenting, I reviewed both the Halton District School Board (HDSB) and Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) websites. What I found was clear evidence that trustees are not ceremonial roles. They approve budgets, preside over meetings, invite delegations, and provide accessible channels for parents and residents to raise concerns. The HDSB site is more task-oriented, while the HCDSB site consolidates planning and finance information—but in both cases, trustees are central to how citizens engage with education decisions.
That is why the Ford government’s suggestion of eliminating trustees is so concerning. Parents would be left to deal only with Queen’s Park, where decisions are centralized and far removed from Burlington’s lived realities. Efficiency without accountability risks silencing local voices.
At the same time, we cannot ignore recent missteps. In June, the province took control of four more school boards over alleged mismanagement, appointing supervisors to replace local oversight. Those failures are real and have understandably fueled calls for change. Yet, the remedy for mismanagement should be stronger oversight and higher standards—not the wholesale elimination of elected trustees.
It is also fair to note that some feel overtly partisan pushes, including strong NDP advocacy, risk skewing governance too far left. That is a legitimate concern. But the solution is not to silence boards entirely—it is to elect a balanced, diverse mix of trustees who reflect their communities.
Trustees have been part of Ontario’s democratic fabric for 175 years. If they remain muted in the face of this threat, they may find that silence helps erase them altogether.
New Democrats have always used school boards to breed future socialist politicians.