Two rural politicians are raising concerns about the Thames Valley District School Board‘s commitment to rural education after alleging board staff tried to run out the clock to prevent a task force from completing its work.
The board alleges the Rural Education Task Force‘s (RETF) draft report is “incomplete and unsuitable for public discussion by municipalities,” adding that the committee does not have the authority “to make recommendations around anything related to education, finance, personnel, and property.”
The board’s statement also pointed to numerous investments in rural education over the years, including recent new schools in Ingersoll, Tillsonburg, Norwich and Woodstock as well as renovations to other county schools.
But the Mayor of the Township of Zorra and Deputy Mayor of Thames Centre argue that the handling of the RETF draft report is the latest example of the TVDSB failing to prioritize rural education.
“I think this is the ongoing story of rural communities in the TVDSB wanting to be heard and understood and TVDSB staff not wanting to listen,” said Township of Zorra mayor Marcus Ryan, who is also one of the vice chairs of the task force.
“Board staff are trying to keep secret a report that the board asked for and trustees, board staff and county councillors worked on and residents paid for.”
Deputy mayor of Thames Centre Kelly Elliott said she has “hundreds of stories” from constituents about rural schools being left behind.
“For Thames Valley District School Board to completely ignore the issue and then try and pat themselves on the back is a slap in the face to our rural communities.”
Ryan, Elliott suggest staff call the shots over elected trustees
Ryan said the RETF was formed nearly two years ago as part of an effort to consult with communities in Oxford, Elgin and Middlesex county about opportunities and challenges facing schools in their regions and to determine what the board could do “differently and better.”
The task force consists of municipal councillors, some TVDSB staff members and some trustees. He said he was appointed by Oxford County to be on the task force because the board had requested that Oxford, Elgin and Middlesex counties have representatives.
Public consultation was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the task force received an extension a year ago after providing the board with an interim report.
“That extension now runs out at the end of this month,” he explained.
“We were working on (the draft report) with all those people at meetings through January and February. Then before our February meeting, where we were going to then begin finalizing the draft and then do a round of focus groups… board staff — not the board of trustees, board staff — directed staff not to work on the task force anymore, and they cancelled our meetings.”
Ryan said he is better versed in municipal governance than in the inner workings of the school board, but his observation as an outsider is that “it’s much more of the tail wagging the dog” and that staff are “much more in control at school boards” than the trustees.
When asked if she agreed, Elliott said “100 per cent.”
“This report was drafted by elected officials for elected officials. The fact that un-elected staff are trying to bury this report is appalling in itself, and the public should be very upset.”
Global News reached out to the TVDSB for comment on Ryan and Elliott’s suggestion that staff are making decisions that should be left up to trustees but a spokesperson declined to respond to that particular question.
Global News also reached out to the 13 TVDSB trustees. Lori-Ann Pizzolato, chair of the board of trustees and trustee for wards 1, 11, 12 and 14, said in a statement that trustees work collaboratively with administration to identify and address the needs and priorities of their constituents “to make decisions that reflect and benefit public education as a whole.”
“Trustees are locally elected representatives who play an integral role in advancing the interests of public education. As elected officials, trustees work collectively to promote student achievement and well-being for all students across the board,” she said.
“While the Education Act clearly defines the distinct roles that trustees and administration play in advancing public education, the role of governance and oversight of public education rests with the Board of Trustees. This is a duty that all trustees take incredibly seriously and informs all decisions they make as elected representatives of TVDSB.”
Board argues draft report recommendations inconsistent with legislation
At Elgin County council’s March 8 meeting, Central Elgin mayor Sally Martyn spoke about her recent experience as a member of the task force, claiming that a draft proposal was completed Jan. 10 but still required review and feedback.
“The problem was when the next meeting came up, two staff members decided to cancel the meeting,” she said, stressing that the staff members made the decision and not the board.
“We have not yet been able to have a meeting to finalize the report so we just, as I was your representative on it, wanted you to have a chance to see the report.”
The draft report was included in Elgin, Oxford and Middlesex County council meeting agendas for the week of March 7, seeking the councils’ support, in principle, for the draft report.
On Monday afternoon, before the county council meetings, the TVDSB issued a statement expressing concern about the “premature release” of the draft report.
“Thames Valley District School Board Administration have reviewed a draft report created by an Ad Hoc committee, the Rural Education Task Force (RETF), and determined the report to be incomplete and unsuitable for public discussion by municipalities,” the statement read.
“The draft report was found to lack key components, including consultations with Indigenous groups, equity seeking groups, and student groups. Many of the actions recommended in the draft were not examined through a legal lens and are also determined to be inconsistent with the Education Act, the Ontario Human Rights Code, and are in violation of collective agreements.
“Recommendations in the draft report would limit student choice about where they attend school, and disadvantage students based on their home addresses.”
If there are recommendations that are inconsistent with legislation, Ryan said concerns should be brought forward to the task force so it can make those changes. Failing that, he said the board of trustees would still have the opportunity to hear advice from staff.
In his opinion, however, he doesn’t believe there is anything controversial about the report.
“Most of it is saying you should talk more with your rural communities and understand their challenges and opportunities and how you can better deliver education service,” he said.
He pointed to support of the province’s Rural and Northern Education Fund as one of the key recommendations. The draft report suggests advocating for expanded funding allocation; modelling RNEF policy differentiation through strategic and operational plans, student accommodation and capital planning, budget, policy and procedures; and exploring differentiations required to support RNEF schools.
He also suggested that a lack of thorough consultation was directly associated with the cancellation of the task force’s last two meetings, saying that the task force had planned to conduct focus groups.
Global News asked a TVDSB spokesperson what specific portions of the draft report are inconsistent with the Education Act, Ontario Human Rights Code and collective agreements but did not receive a response to that particular question.
The draft report has since been tabled at all three county council meetings. While Middlesex County and Oxford County councils both voted to support the draft report in principle this week, Elgin County council voted instead to simply receive the draft report over concerns that supporting it in principle could be viewed as an attempt to influence the TVDSB’s decision-making.
Trustees will receive RETF draft report at the March 22 board meeting
A TVDSB spokesperson did confirm to Global News that “the RETF incomplete draft report will be going in front of the Trustees on March 22.”
At that same meeting, trustees will also continue a discussion on the distribution of trustee seats, including an option to reduce the number of trustees from Middlesex County by one and increase the number of London trustees by one.
Ryan said, “That would result in seven London trustees, five county trustees and one First Nations, Métis and Inuit trustee.”
In an email to Global News, the TVDSB stressed that this review is not at all out of the ordinary.
“It is a requirement of all school boards in Ontario, that prior to each regular election, Trustees must distribute the positions of the elected members across the board’s area of jurisdiction,” said the board’s general legal counsel, Ali Chahbar.
“The process, timelines, and steps associated with this distribution process, are required and laid out in the Education Act. TVDSB is currently completing this process in accordance with parameters and timelines outlined in the Education Act.”
While the discussion itself is standard practice, Elliott is concerned about whatever decision may come out of it.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen on (March 22). If they don’t do anything about this report and if they remove a Middlesex County trustee, there is going to be a lot of public outrage at Thames Valley District School Board.”
In the interim, Elliott and Ryan have organized an informal information session on Thursday evening to speak with the public about the RETF draft report and next steps.
Ryan said the session was set up in response to community demand.
“I was not capable of responding to all the engagement I was getting from residents’ Facebook messages, Twitter responses, emails, phone calls, etc. And we just thought, ‘Let’s get everybody together in one spot at one time and tell everybody about this,'” he said.
“I’ve just been swamped and I know Kelly has as well. So have my Elgin and Middlesex counterparts on the task force.”
The information session will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10 in the Dorchester Arena.
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