'Amateur hour behaviour': School trustee selection process needs review, educator says

While there are plenty of school boards across Canada that practise good governance, there are too many examples of trustees displaying "amateur hour behaviour," Ontario's former deputy minister of education says.

Misspent money, poorly conceived contracts, directors getting paid more than they're allowed  — these are just some of the examples of mismanagement that result from bad board governance, Charles Pascal says.

In fact, he says it may be time to take a closer look at how we choose trustees.

"Are there other ways of ensuring better governance by how trustees are selected?" Pascal said.

The role of trustees came under scrutiny this past week following the decision by B.C.'s education minister to fire all nine of the Vancouver School Board's elected members after they refused to balance the board's budget.

It's not the first time a B.C. school board has been fired. Nor is B.C. the only province to take such action. In 1999, Alberta fired the entire Calgary public school board for being dysfunctional.

A consultant recently found that the Edmonton Catholic school board was "functionally challenged." Meanwhile, Toronto residents are certainly familiar with the problems that have plagued the city's public school board.

'Very important role to play'

"Being a school board trustee is a very important role and a lot of people play it well and contribute something larger than their own interests," Pascal said.

The power of trustees is limited by their provincial government overseers. But they do have the responsibility of setting certain policies and the strategic direction of schools, hiring principals and superintendents, and determining the education needs of their respective communities.

But part of the problem, Pascal says, is there are some trustees who focus on a single issue and, "come hell or high water," are going to put that one issue to the board and nothing else.

Margot Trevelyan, a former director of labour relations and governance at the Ontario Ministry of Education, says she's talked to trustees who've told her they've run "in order to fire the principal of a local school and put in another principal."

Pascal says there are also those trustees who see their role primarily as a stepping stone to a larger political career and might be more focused on their own ambitions than the interests of students.

"That doesn't augur well for creating something larger than the sum of your parts," he said.

An advisory panel chaired by former Toronto mayor Barbara Hall last year to look into troubles at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) heard that trustees "are too focused on micro-level problems rather than board-wide issues."

• Education minister fires Vancouver School Board
• Edmonton Catholic school board mired in conflict
• Toronto board needs supervisor to change 'culture of fear'

As well, some observers told the panel that trustees "become vociferous advocates only for their own constituents rather than advocates for students across the board."

Trustees often hold their positions for multiple terms, as most voters pay little attention to those races when there are municipal elections, Pascal said.

"So, there are issues regarding how long people stay and whether you need to refresh trustee terms ... whether they are elected, appointed or some kind of mix," he said.

Trevelyan said one way to resolve the issue of trustees acting only on behalf of their own constituents is to have elections for trustees at large. Voters would all choose from the same list of candidates, regardless of their constituency. 

"So, once those 12 people go to the board, no individual would feel accountable to a particular constituency. They hopefully would be making decisions for the population as a whole," she said.

Others have said school board trustee elections should be scrapped altogether, and trustees should be appointed, like they are in New York and Chicago, by the respective mayors.

'What do they stand for?'

The 2015 TSDB panel found "some clear benefits of appointing board members," which included filling skills gaps and gaps in representation.

But the panel also found  "various examples of appointed boards that have demonstrated significant governance challenges similar to those faced by some elected boards."

It concluded "the method of electing trustees — by ward or at large — has no direct correlation with an effective governance structure."

Yet the panelists did recommend trustees serve a maximum of three consecutive terms of office.

• Education minister fires Vancouver School Board
• Structure of school boards causes conflict

Charles Ungerleider, a professor of education at the University of British Columbia and a former deputy minister of education in B.C., said when it comes to voters choosing their trustees, they need to look into what kinds of decisions they are going to make.

"What do they stand for? What are their educational values?" Ungerleider said. "What is their vision for the next generation."