High Hopes: The TDSB has a chance to finally get things right

Hamlet: the final scene

Finally, the decks have been cleared for a thorough overhaul of the perennially troubled Toronto District School Board. Ontario’s education minister and the board itself must lose no time in putting Canada’s biggest school board on the right track.

A major obstacle was removed this past week with the announcement that the TDSB’s controversial director of education, Donna Quan, will depart on Dec. 14 to assume a research job newly created for her by Queen’s Park.

If nothing else, this provides a chance for a fresh start at a board that has become a byword for institutional dysfunction. Things have calmed down since last year, when squabbling between Quan and trustees spiraled out of control. But finding a new education director better placed to create a culture of good governance and trust at the board is a vital step.

It’s also important that the government release a report conducted by former Ontario Human Rights Commission chair Barbara Hall, aimed at finding a “more effective governance structure” for the Toronto board. That report was ordered up at the beginning this year but has been languishing on the desk of Education Minister Liz Sandals since August.  (more...)

The TDSB has a chance to finally get things right

Don't hold your breath