York trustee alleged to have pressured staff to boost daughter’s mark

York Region school trustee Linda Aversa is alleged to have pressured senior school staff to boost
one of her daughter's marks

A York Region trustee is alleged to have pressured senior staff to boost her daughter’s marks so she could get into a competitive university program, the Star has learned.

The request from Trustee Linda Aversa and higher-ups was so intense, according to a school board source, that senior staff spent multiple hours of their workday over a two-week period discussing it.

“She should have known better,” said a source with inside knowledge of the incident involving the trustee, who represents Wards 3 and 4 in Vaughan. “She used her access to petition for her daughter.”

Aversa said the allegations are incorrect and she never asked for marks to be raised.
“As any parent would, I did have appropriate dialogue with my daughter’s school about her education, but I have never asked anyone to boost her marks.”

The allegations of trustee interference come as the York Region District School Board faces ongoing concern about how it is being run, increasing discontent among staff and an unusually high number of resignations of well-respected senior managers. The Star also recently revealed how trustees secretly voted their new and relatively inexperienced director an unprecedented 10-year contract.

The behaviour and influence of some trustees across the GTA, who are elected by the public, has long been a headache for the province.  (more...)

York trustee alleged to have pressured staff to boost daughter’s mark