School boards question 'wasteful spending' rationale behind new education bill

CBC

5 days ago

Education Minister Paul Calandra cited "wasteful spending" as a reason for a new bill to strengthen accountability and transparency across Ontario's education system, but several school board chairs and an opposition MPP say this is not the root of funding shortfalls.
Calandra announced broad legislation on Thursday that he said would give the minister wide powers to investigate and place school boards under supervision, which would "ensure that every dollar invested is preparing students with practical skills for good-paying, stable careers."
During a news conference to introduce the bill, Calandra referenced school board trustees from the Brantford, Ont., area who were forced to repay $50,000 they spent during an art-buying trip in Italy last July.
But Lynn Scott, chair of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), said this was not a widespread phenomenon.
"I don't think that wasteful spending is the root cause of the funding shortfalls and the deficit budgets that many boards have had to contend with over the last few years," she told CBC.
OCDSB singled out
The OCDSB is one of five school boards Calandra singled out for financial mismanagement last month.
The province is investigating the board as it seeks $20 million in savings in order to avoid a fifth consecutive deficit ahead of finalizing its budget next month.
The investigator's report, due on May 30, will recommend whether the OCDSB should hand over control of its finances to the Ministry of Education.
The ministry has not yet released the full text of the Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, leaving questions over much of its content.
"If the bill is truly taking aim at good governance, I am absolutely in support of that," Scott said.
"But right now, I think the big question for me is what is actually in the legislation? Is it going to be clear enough? Is it going to be fair? And is it going to itself be focused on what is going to help us improve student achievement and well-being for all of the kids in our schools across the province?"
Blaming school boards for wasteful spending appeared to be a diversion from a government that has cut funding for education, said Chandra Pasma, MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean and shadow education minister for the New Democratic Party.
"While this government's been in power, they have cut spending to the point where $6.35 billion have come out of the education system over the past seven years," she said, referring to recent research from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
"The school boards aren't able to fix that," she added.
Questions about oversight
Some school board trustees are also concerned that the legislation could allocate wide powers to the minister, and have questions about oversight.
Bob Schreader, the chair of the Renfrew County Catholic School Board, questioned why Calandra had announced the legislation would give the minister the power to name schools.
"We've always named our schools after saints," he said, saying it was a priority for school boards to retain ability to name schools, as opposed to the minister.
Schreader lauded the bill's aim to improve financial transparency but said most boards were not spending extravagantly.
"I would say 99.9 per cent of the boards spend their money appropriately, frugally, and try to ensure that the money that they're given is put into the classrooms to ensure student success," he said.