More than two-and-a-half years after the province sidelined trustees at the Peel District School Board, supervision of the institution has come to an end.
In a post on its website, the board said it had been notified that supervision was ending and trustees — elected in October, 2022 — would be given the power to govern again.
Peel District School Board was placed under supervision by Ontario education minister Stephen Lecce in June 2020 after two damning investigations and reports into equity and governance concerns.
Advocates in the region drew attention to board issues until the province stepped in to investigate.
The Ontario government ordered an investigation into “widespread racism” at the board just before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
In a statement at the time, the province said reviewers found an “inadequate response, lack of action, and commitment to fully counter anti-Black racism, and discrimination against other minority communities and broader equity imperatives.”
Fast forward more than two years and Bruce Rodrigues, the man appointed to run the board instead of trustees, told Lecce that PDSB is “a more capable, focused and responsive board.”
In a letter dated Jan. 3, 2023, Rodrigues said changes to the senior administration and improvement at board level meant PDSB could be given its independence again.
PDSB announced it had been told supervision had ended on Thursday, Jan. 19.