NORTH BAY - As debate intensifies over proposed changes to the province’s education system, many Ontarians are calling on leaders to protect the role of locally elected school board trustees.
A coalition of citizens has started a petition to oppose the Ontario government’s thoughts of eliminating democratically elected trustees.
See: Province seizes control of troubled Near North District School Board
And: Education Minister: Near North Board 'poster child' for takeover
"Citizens Advocating for Democracy in Ontario" was organized to garner public support to oppose any move to do away with trustees. The petition was started by Bill Steer, a trustee on the Near North District School Board.
Its tagline is: “Democracy is under attack, and we can't be Trumped within our own province."
Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra intends to possibly eliminate public school board trustees in the very near future, says a news release from the group. "He views the current governance model as outdated and inefficient, aiming to centralize and standardize the education system."
The petition is supported by the board's chair, Jay Aspin, who has 45 years in elected public office, including a term as MP. Twenty-one of those have been spent as an elected public trustee.
He told BayToday that the main thrust of the petition is directed against Calandra's treatment of trustees, pointing out that Ontario trustees have been around for 185 years.
"Removing trustees is removing the direct voice of the people in education," says Aspin. "And that's anti-democratic, and it's not justified. To blame the trustees, the six boards, for all the ills in education today is misleading and unjustified."
He says Calandra's actions against the school boards were "like a guillotine."
"It was very, very abrupt, and so I don't like the way he did it."
Aspin says it's time that the people of Ontario stand up against the attack on trustees and for the democratic process.
"It's the old silent majority thing. And you know, unless trustees stand up for themselves and stand up for them as the voice of the public in education, who's to know what's going to happen? "
Aspin hopes the public gets behind the petition because, "If somebody doesn't stand up for the voice of democracy and education, we're in tough shape."
He is so passionate about the subject that he recently appealed to Premier Doug Ford.
In a letter, Aspin wrote, "I am writing to you directly to share my concern about Minister Calandra’s apparent desire to eliminate locally elected school board trustees. Trustees are the direct link between our communities and our education system. The removal of this link will undermine democracy and erode community trust. Ontarians will be very upset to lose their democratic voice in decision-making."
The petition can be viewed here.
But Steer and Aspin say the petition has nothing to do with being upset at Calandra for taking over NNDSB.
"The crazy board that operated for the past three years did some crazy things and deserved it," Aspin says. "I agreed to rejoin the board at the last minute to save it, but it was too far gone. I am not into sour grapes for a board I was only Chair of for 13 days.
"What I am really upset with is Calandra’s narrow vision to eliminate all trustees to the detriment of education in Ontario. Silence is complicity, so we cannot risk letting this go. We need a strong movement to counter it."