You can run for school board trustee this fall. But it's still unclear when supervision will end

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Speaking to reporters Monday, Calandra said French boards will have the same limitations on the number of trustees and will not be able to pay membership fees for outside organizations.

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School boards spend millions out of the education budget to supports organizations like the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association and the Ontario Catholic Trustees’ Association, he said.

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“We’re not saying that they can’t,” said Calandra. “Trustees will have to do that out of their own resources that are meant for the classroom.”

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He added that the French boards have been “more financially sound” than the English boards.

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“We have to address why, on the English side, we’re seeing declining enrolment and we’re seeing increasing enrolment in private schools across the province,” said Calandra.

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For trustees who have been sidelined since June, the question is whether to spend the time and money to run for a more limited position that may not even exist for an unspecified period of time.

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Lyra Evans, a former OCDSB trustee, has already announced her intention to run for a city council seat in the Rideau-Vanier ward.

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“I really feel I have accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish as a trustee,” she said. “The province has made accomplishing anything further unviable. They have reduced the ability to  cover reasonable expenses like milage. It was already a hard sell to convince people to give up two nights a week for four years.”

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Lyra, who uses her first name, said trustee candidates typically spent between $5,000 and $10,000 to run for election.

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“It wouldn’t just cost people money. We don’t know if we will get back to doing anything,” she said. “There’s no ability to go into the budget. You won’t get the same level of discussion at the school board level.”

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Donna Blackburn had mused publicly about running for city council, but now says she will sign up to run as a trustee again.

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“He’s making it as unattractive as possible to be a trustee. Is it his goal to make it attractive only to rich people and retired people?” said Blackburn. “It will affect the quality of people coming forward.”

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Blackburn believes the trustees’ role will outlast the current provincial government. When times are good in education, the province takes the credit. When times are bad, trustees are the scapegoats, she said.

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But beyond that, trustees have an important job, she said.

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“People want a phone number to call and know that person is representing them. As a trustee, I can smooth over a situation where a principal and a parent don’t see eye-to-eye. These kinds of things are under the radar.”

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Registrations for the upcoming municipal election open on May 1 and candidates have until 2 p.m. on Aug. 21 to file their nomination papers. Election signs can go up on Sept. 11. Voting day is Oct. 26.

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While elections will still be held in October, public school boards will not be returning to a governance role until supervisorships have concluded, said Calandra.

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“If no one wants to run because the board is under supervision, then that’s fine,” he said. “The ministry has statutory powers to fill those vacancies, and we’ll do it when we feel it’s necessary to do so. Or we can simply wait until the board gets returned and have an election at that point.”

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