Ontario’s largest school board is voicing its concerns about the province’s new education legislation, saying it will weaken the role of school trustees in several matters.
Toronto District School Board (TDSB) chair Rachel Chernos Lin enumerated the concerns about Bill 98 during a deputation before the province’s standing committee on social policy and were shared on Tuesday evening in a news release.
If the legislation, also known as the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, is passed, the TDSB said it would remove the important role of trustees in determining which school board sites should be declared surplus based on the unique needs of the community.
“We are deeply concerned that Bill 98 appears to remove the very important role of elected boards of trustees in a number of critical areas. Whether it is deciding which schools are needed in our neighbourhoods or setting the priorities of the school board for years to come, the voice of unique communities that trustees bring to these decisions should not and cannot be overridden by the provincial government,” Lin said.