Newmarket’s education community is bracing itself for significant reforms announced by the province last week.
The new Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act will allow the province to set board of education priorities, enhance requirements around the trustee code of conduct and create new standardized benchmarks for directors of education.
But some local educators are unhappy about the news coming without warning or consultation. Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) York Region president Pam Beetlestone said the justification for the reforms is unclear.
“Instead of working in partnership to improve a world-renowned education system, the Ford government is focused on creating a crisis in public education where none exists,” she said. “Why is an overhaul necessary? What is their agenda? Refocusing of the education system should not include government overreach.”
Among other changes, the new education legislation will also create a standardized process under an integrity commissioner to address code of conduct complaints, set up standardized training for trustees and allow the province to direct boards to sell property if not required for student needs.
“We are taking action to refocus Ontario’s education system on what really matters: strengthening reading, writing and math skills,” Minister of Education Stephen Lecce said in a news release. “These reforms would ensure students graduate with a competitive advantage while learning modern lessons in modern schools, preparing them for the jobs of the future.”
York Region District School Board senior manager of corporate communications Licinio Miguelo said it is too early to determine the impact of the bill and how it will affect local school boards.
"It's too early to comment on the overall effects of the bill while we review the details the announcement and wait for additional implementation details to come from the ministry,” Miguelo said.
But Federation of Canadian Secondary Students chair and Aurora Grade 12 student Bruce Yu spoke positively about the legislation. He said providing more accountability to school boards and tangible indicators are important.
Standardized benchmarks are “absolutely a step forward,” he said, adding, “It’s important school boards are focusing on outcomes.”
News stories of conflicts in school boards elsewhere in the province are a concern, he said. But even at York Region District School Board, he said trustee code of conduct issues have arisen. Although local boards have their own integrity commissioners, the province ensuring that is universal and providing their own is a positive step.
“YRDSB, especially in the past term, has seen a lot of turmoil and controversy,” Yu said. “Having an impartial integrity commissioner across Ontario is going to help with that.”
Although Yu does not see any particular issues with the legislation as is, he said the province is being vague with the priorities it will set for boards. He said he hopes those are set by consultation with many different stakeholder groups.
Meanwhile, education unions are calling for more funding in the system to keep up with inflation. Although the province has said it is adding more dollars to the system, the Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers' Federation said the provincial release of grants to students needs, which fund boards directly, indicates cuts when adjusted for inflation for 2023/24.
Beetlestone said that the public needs to pay attention to the changes and stand up to the government regarding education underfunding. Nothing positive can be gleaned from the legislation without appropriate funding, she added.
“The public needs to absolutely address this through the school boards and the trustees."
