By Pepper Parr
November 13th, 2025
BURLINGTON. ON
Every Ontario school board will have to open a “student and family support office” that will be expected to respond to parents’ concerns within five days, Education Minister Paul Calandra announced yesterday.
And just what is a “student and family support office” and who will it be run by? Isn’t that the job school board trustees are in place to do?
The Minister of Education said the process is being “Set up as the way for parents to have a “clear, effective way to get help regarding their child’s education and find solutions faster,” it comes as the government is looking to reform the education system, possibly eliminating the position of trustee.
“Better access for parents means better outcomes for students,” Calandra said in a written statement. “Student and Family Support Offices will give families clear answers and timely solutions when it comes to their child’s education. We’re going to continue overhauling an outdated school board governance model so that more resources go into classrooms, teachers have better support and students have the best chance to succeed.”
In the supervised boards — Toronto public, Toronto Catholic, Dufferin-Peel Catholic, Ottawa-Carleton public and Thames Valley public — trustees have already been stripped of all their powers with a provincial appointee in charge instead.
The support offices will open in all other boards next fall, and will have to acknowledge parents’ requests within two days and aim to respond within five.
“The offices will act as an additional way to help families get answers on broader community concerns, as well as contentious or complex issues that need to be escalated after speaking with the school,” said the news release from Calandra’s office.
Typically, parents must approach the teacher, principal and then superintendent when issues arise, and some turn to their trustee for guidance, especially when administrators have been unresponsive or they are unsure how to navigate the system.
Amy Collard, Chair of the Halton District School Board has not been very quick at commenting on how the province will do away with School boards across the province.
Non-supervised boards will have to have plans submitted to the ministry by the end of March, and open the offices in September.
In the boards currently supervised, it is expected that existing staff will be redeployed. For all other boards, staffing plans will be a part of their submissions to the ministry.
The Gazette will reach out to the Chair of the School Board trustees for comment; in the past they have chosen to say very little.
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Friends, most of us know the Mayor’s name, and many of us know our Councillor’s name, but let’s be honest, who knows their School Trustee’s name? Be Honest….
This is about time. Most people voting for their ward school trustee have no idea who they are.
In some school boards trustees have encouraged some negative changes to take place.
This could not happen soon enough.
Some sort of change is needed.Many boards are stacked with people using the position to push political agendas.
What type of agendas would that be?