School trustees have lost public trust — and outlived their role

Schools teach children life skills: how to think critically, behave respectfully, act ethically, assume responsibility.

Choose your own checklist. No matter the variations on the above themes, a recurring question arises: Why can’t school trustees, entrusted with educating our children, aspire to similar standards?

Yet another special report, ordered by the Ministry of Education on a delinquent school board, arrived this month. Another devastating post-mortem on the life skills and work habits of elected trustees.

This time it’s the York Region board of trustees guilty of gross incompetence in managing money — and themselves. Measured against the above checklist, they failed on every count.

A botched hiring of the board’s director granted him employment-for-life. Bungled responses to homophobic and racist incidents. Untrammelled travel by untrustworthy trustees. Playing games, playing politics, playing trustees off against one another. Patronizing parents. Abdicating ethical responsibilities and leadership roles.  (more...)

School trustees have lost public trust — and outlived their role

Background:

Another investigation reveals another school board gone very, very wrong