Latest news with #schoolboards
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Rep. Weyler, chair of House Finance Committee, calls NH school boards ‘corrupt'
CONCORD — The chair of the House Finance Committee called the state's school boards corrupt at a meeting Wednesday during a debate over expanding the Education Freedom Account program. Rep. Kenneth Weyler, R-Kingston, called the boards corrupt because he claimed they have not done anything to raise student performance levels. 'This education system we have in our state is a failure. It just keeps going up in cost and no increase in testing results,' Weyler said. 'There is no discipline at all on education because the school boards are just corrupt, they do not do anything about the failures.' Rep. David Luneau, D-Hopkinton, and a former Hopkinton school board member, tried to interrupt Weyler saying, 'That is just offensive,' but Weyler continued. 'Some parents are taking action against this by moving their children,' he said. 'It is quite a sacrifice by the parents to do this because they have to provide the transportation and all the other things involved.' The New Hampshire School Boards Association defended their members saying they work hard to address educational needs while the state has continually underfunded its obligations. 'Locally elected school board members across New Hampshire work diligently to address the needs of students, families, educators, taxpayers and local communities,' said the association's Executive Director Barrett Christina. 'Despite decades of the state underfunding its own mandates and downshifting education costs to local school districts, towns and municipalities, our local school boards have consistently supported and developed educational programs that serve diverse student populations and contribute to New Hampshire's standing among the top three public education systems in the nation. 'Recent remarks by Representative Weyler do not reflect the dedication and hard work of our local school board members, nor do we believe they represent the views of the local community members and the taxpayers who elect them,' Christina said. Weyler said all the talk about the expense of the EFA program loses sight of the fact it should save school districts money when kids leave public schools. Very few of the 5,300 students in the EFA program left public schools to join, about 75 percent of the students in the program were in private or religious schools or homeschooled when their parents applied for grants making it largely a subsidy program for parents paying the cost of their children's non-public education. 'There should be savings for every child that leaves if we're spending over $20,000 per student,' Weyler said. 'When that student leaves the local schools, there should be big savings in property taxes. That is never mentioned.' Responding to statements that opponents of the state's voucher plan far outnumber supporters, Weyler blamed educators for skewing the numbers. 'You have thousands of people working for this corrupt system and they are the ones making the phone calls,' Weyler said, 'and I object to it.' Rep. Rosemarie Rung, D-Merrimack, asked Weyler to apologize to the hundreds of school board members across the state as she was at one time along with another member of the committee. 'We have done our best for our communities,' she said. Weyler said perhaps he exaggerated but for the last 20 years he had not seen any improvement in the operations of schools and the accomplishments of the students. 'Perhaps I exaggerated, but it is a failure,' he said Rung asked him to come to Merrimack to a board meeting and see how what he said is not accurate. Weyler said he watched the scandal in his local school board. Rep. Kate Murray, D-New Castle, reminded the committee that New Hampshire public school students rank third in the country overall. The committee voted 14-11 down party lines to recommend Senate Bill 295 expanding the voucher plan be passed by the full House. The vote could come as early as next week. Garry Rayno may be reached at This article first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: House Finance Chair Ken Weyler calls NH school boards 'corrupt'
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Ontario education minister to get more school board powers
Ontario is set to give the minister of education power to more easily put school boards under supervision and require more boards to put police officers in schools. Siobhan Morris reports.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Ottawa school boards watching proposed legislation that gives power to Education Ministry
Trustees at the OCDSB were told they will need to make some difficult choices to avoid a fifth year of budget deficits. CTV's Natalie van Rooy reports. Trustees at the OCDSB were told they will need to make some difficult choices to avoid a fifth year of budget deficits. CTV's Natalie van Rooy reports. The Minister of Education announced broad legislation at Queen's Park on Thursday that could change the future of how school boards operate in Ontario, making it easier to allow the province to take over boards that it believes are acting irresponsibly. The province says this is necessary to address financial mismanagement and to ensure school boards are putting resources into educating children, but critics are raising concerns about the possibility of taking away power from local trustees and putting it into the hands of officials at Queen's Park. 'This is for every board across the province of Ontario. It removes an antiquated and old, outdated system,' said education minister Paul Calandra. 'What it should have is the authority to step in when boards aren't doing what they're doing, what they're supposed to be doing, and when they have gone off the rails, either financially, or on other matters that are important to students, parents and teachers.' The move would also eliminate third-party investigations and recommendations, allowing the province to make the decision to put boards under supervision. 'I think it's really important for there to be an opportunity for the minister to hear from school boards before the decision is made and to only take over a board where the board is clearly refusing to carry out its responsibilities in accordance with the applicable legislation,' said Lynn Scott, the chair of the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCSDB). The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) says it's not an education reform, but authoritarianism that's designed to deflect blame, suppress dissenting voices, and tighten political control over a public education system this government has failed to adequately fund. Meanwhile the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) said in a statement, 'It remains committed to responsible governance, transparency, and decisions that serve the best interests of our students, staff and school communities. We recognize the Ministry of Education's intent is to ensure that school boards across Ontario operate effectively and in alignment with provincial expectations, which is what we have always done as an organization.' The province made the announcement amid a financial investigation into the OCDSB, raising questions about what could happen when the imminently expected report is released. 'We look forward to seeing what the findings are and to working with the province to make sure that any deficiencies are corrected moving forward,' said Scott. Parents with children at schools within the board also weighing in. 'It sort of comes as a surprise to hear that while we're waiting for those results, we're now being told that going forward we won't have third party involvement,' said Michelle Bertram, a parent in Ottawa. 'That's my first question, is with the timing. I'm just surprised because we have been told wait for the results of those investigations done by third parties.'
CBC
5 days ago
- General
- CBC
Ontario set to give education minister more power over school boards
Ontario is set to give the minister of education power to more easily put school boards under supervision and require more boards to put police officers in schools. CBC's Lorenda Reddekopp has the details.
National Post
5 days ago
- General
- National Post
OSBCU Responds to New Education Legislation: 'Police in Schools Won't Fix an Understaffed, Underfunded System'
Article content TORONTO — Earlier today, the Ford government and Education Minister Paul Calandra introduced the Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, which includes provisions to make it easier for the province to take control of local school boards and mandates School Resource Officers (SROs)—police—in schools. Article content Article content In response, the Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) is sounding the alarm. 'This legislation does nothing to address the real crisis in Ontario education: chronic underfunding and critical understaffing,' said Joe Tigani, President of the OSBCU. 'Instead of investing in more frontline education workers to support students and reduce violence in schools, the government is choosing to bring police into classrooms—a failed, harmful experiment that puts Black, Indigenous, and other racialized students at greater risk.' Article content These legislative changes represent a direct attack on the democratic governance and autonomy of school boards, allowing the government to exert greater control over decisions that may seem minor—such as naming rights or ancillary fees—but which have real impacts on equity and support for students. Forcing boards to implement police presence in schools is another example of this overreach. Putting police in schools does nothing to address the root issue: the lack of supports for staff and students due to years of chronic underfunding. The funds earmarked for this ineffective and harmful initiative would be far better spent on hiring permanent, full-time education workers who are trained to support students. Article content 'Forcing the return of police into schools is a deeply regressive move that ignores the lived experiences of those most affected—particularly Black, Indigenous, and other racialized students,' said Jehan Bisnauth, Educational Assistant with the Durham District School Board and Equity Representative on the OSBCU Executive. 'The Ontario Human Rights Commission has made clear recommendations on creating safer, more inclusive schools, and this legislation disregards them entirely. Police in schools are not the answer to anything. Our students need trained, compassionate education workers—not officers—in their classrooms.' Article content Since 2018, the Ford government has shortchanged public education by over $12 billion in cumulative funding. In the current school year alone, boards are operating with a $2.3 billion shortfall due to inflation and enrollment outpacing funding. The results have been devastating: fewer supports, unmanageable workloads, and growing inequities in our schools for staff and students. Article content Today's legislation is the first introduced by Minister Calandra, and it sends a troubling message: rather than provide meaningful support, the government is choosing centralized control. When asked about governance, the Minister's response — 'everything is on the table'— reveals a willingness to further undermine public accountability of education and the role of democratically elected school board trustees. This is yet another example of the Ford government's total disregard for local democracy. Article content 'This is not about safety or respect—it's about power,' Tigani said. 'If this government was serious about tackling the real issues, it would be hiring thousands of new education workers, not giving the Minister more authoritarian powers.' Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
