Municipal election shines light on education issues
The Spectator explores some of the highlights, from the bus driver shortage to curriculum reform to new schools in the works, ahead of Oct. 22
An ongoing school bus driver shortage. Several multimillion-dollar capital projects. Below-average EQAO results.
These are only a few of the education issues in the spotlight as the municipal election approaches.
On Oct. 22, 11 school trustees — who provide a link between boards and communities — will be elected at the public board, nine at the Catholic board and one each for Hamilton’s French boards.
While matters such as overall funding and curriculum development are determined by the province, local boards have their say on issues such as planning and ensuring students receive a broad education.
“There has been a kind of feeling over the last few years that school boards don’t have that much impact because the province controls the money, so does it really matter who’s there?” said Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education, an organization to support and advance public education.
“That’s not really correct. A lot of amazing work is done in Hamilton by the school boards.”
Ahead of the election, The Spectator takes a look at some key issues in local education.
Capital projects
Hamilton’s public school board has nine new school projects underway
— the highest number in decades, according to chair Todd White — with combined budgets totalling close to $145 million. Some are at the demolition and tender stage, like the $11.6 million rebuild of Eastdale Elementary School in Stoney Creek, while construction is underway at others, like the new $14.4 million Summit Park elementary school near Fletcher and Rymal roads.
At the Catholic board, work is expected to get underway soon on the new $11.4-million Binbrook Catholic Elementary School, while the $11.2 million rebuild of St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School downtown is still being designed.
Community hubs — a priority of the previous Liberal government — are planned in Rockton and Greensville. Both the Beverly and Greensville sites are going out to tender again after coming back with a combined cost overrun of nearly $9 million the first time..
In April, the province rejected the board’s funding request for an elementary school at the heart of a proposed community hub on the Sir John. A Macdonald Secondary School site.
Before the provincial election in June, HWDSB was given $230,000 to further build their business case.
HWDSB
New schools planned for construction, including:
Beverly (Budget: $7.5 million, Phase: Tender). The project had to be re-tendered after the initial one exceeded the available budget.
C.H. Bray Elementary School (Budget: $10.7 million, Phase: Regulatory approval)
Eastdale Elementary School (Budget: $11.6 million, Phase: Tender). Tender issued in Aug. 2018 with demolition expected to be completed in September.
Glen Campus (Budget: $15.5 million, Phase: Regulatory approval)
Greensville (Budget: $2.5 million, Phase: Tender). The original tender exceeded the available budget, so the project is expected to be re-tendered in late October.
Memorial Elementary School Stoney Creek (Budget: $12 million, Phase: Regulatory approval)
Nora Frances Henderson Secondary School (Budget: $33.5 million, Phase: Construction). Construction expected to start at the end of September.
Bernie Custis School (Budget: $31.8 million, Phase: Construction). Construction is expected to be completed by February 2019 with occupancy planned for September 2019.
Summit Park (Budget: $14.4 million, Phase: Construction). Project expected to be completed for July 2019 with occupancy planned for September 2019.
One elementary school had opened since 2014, including:
Tiffany Hills Elementary School (2016-17)
HWCDSB
New schools planned for construction, including:
Binbrook Catholic Elementary School (Budget: $11.4 million, Phase: Expected to be under construction soon)
New St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School (Budget: $11.2 million, Phase: Design)
Three schools have opened since 2014, including:
St. Gabriel Catholic Elementary School (2015-16)
Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Elementary School (2018)
St. Jean de Brébeuf Catholic Secondary School addition (201718)
SCHOOL CLOSURES
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board has closed seven elementary schools since the 2014 municipal election, while the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board closed St. Brigid Catholic Elementary School. Over the past seven years, the public board conducted 10 elementary accommodation reviews. Three remaining elementary school closure studies — two on the Mountain, one in Dundas — are expected to be completed this term.
HWDSB
Seven elementary schools have closed since 2014, including: Prince Philip School (2014-15) Bell-Stone Elementary (201415)
Eastmount Park (2015-16) Linden Park Elementary School (2015-16) Woodward (2015-16) Greensville (2017-18) Cardinal Heights School (201718)
HWCDSB
One elementary school has closed since 2014:
St. Brigid Catholic Elementary School (2017-18)
FUNDING
With the province expected to soon complete its line-by-line audit of government spending, the impact on public services, including education, is unknown.
Hamilton’s public board already receives per-pupil funding below the provincial average, pointed out former chair and longtime trustee Judith Bishop. HWDSB receives $11,000 in Grants for Students’ Needs Funding per student, while the Ontario average is $11,500, according to a 2017 annual report from the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario.
One financial implication of the new government already felt by the education sector is the cancellation of a $100-million school repair program called the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
The public board lost more than $2.1 million for projects such as energy-efficient lighting systems and heating and ventilation systems because contracts had not yet been awarded.
The Catholic board used nearly $800,000 acquired through the fund because its contracts were already awarded for heat pump replacement and energy recovery ventilators at Cathedral High School.
Beverley Eckensweiler, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association, said trustees in the separate system are concerned about the province giving boards enough autonomy to make local decisions.
“I’m meaning that, when the government hands out funding, that they will allow some of the funding to be earmarked not necessarily to specific things but for the board to put that money toward things that are needed locally,” she said.
Sandra Binns, past president of the Hamilton-based Ontario Federation of Home and School Associations, said “a lot of things are still up in the air,” including Parents Reaching Out Grants to help identify barriers to parent engagement and find local solutions to support students.
EDUCATION REFORM
In September, the Ontario government started its consultation on education reform.
“This year, maybe more even than other years, it’s vital that people are thinking about who their trustees are because it’s the first year of a new government and ... the government is now just kind of forming its own education platform,” said People for Education’s Kidder.
One topic being considered is the sex-ed curriculum — a highprofile subject since the province decided to revert to the 1998 version, prompting two legal challenges and human rights tribunal cases.
HWDSB is looking at how to help teachers meet the new expectations while still fulfilling obligations under a number of policies and legislation.
“It’s about having an inclusive, accepting and discriminationfree learning experience for kids,” Bill Torrens, superintendent of student achievement, previously told The Spectator.
As part of the consultation, the government is also asking for feedback on STEM, skilled trades and standardized testing like EQAO.
Math scores in Hamilton continue to be a problem, with recent EQAO results showing more Grade 6 students than ever fell short in the public board, with only 35 per cent meeting provincial expectations.
Hamilton’s Catholic school board increased its Grade 6 math results to 54 per cent after following the recommendations of its own math task force, including elementary math coaches, said chair Pat Daly.
Former trustee Bishop’s own analysis of EQAO scores found the problem is particularly acute in high-need schools.
Thirty-seven per cent of kids met the benchmark in Grade 3 math in these schools, which is 24 per cent below the Ontario average at 61 per cent.
“Reasons why they’re not achieving are complex but clearly there needs to be much more questions asked and a more indepth understanding,” she said.
Public chair White said the board has a “high priority” strategy in which they use tactics like bringing reading and math “specialists” to schools with low student achievement due to learning challenges.
Early results indicate the effort is paying off, he said. Collective agreements Collective agreements for all of Ontario’s education sector are set to expire Aug. 31. This will be the first round of bargaining under a new government.
The bargaining is two-tiered, with big money items hammered out provincially and other issues handled between individual boards and union locals — an approach that received criticism last time around because of how long it took.
School bus shortage
Hamilton is at a “breaking point” when it comes to transportation, said White. There are two years left in the shared public and Catholic boards’ current contract with bus providers. Other boards renegotiating are seeing increases as high as 30 per cent, he said.
“If we continue with the current design ... we’re either going to have to look at decreasing service, or major deficits when it comes to transportation, (or) borrowing money from other envelopes that certainly need the money as well,” he said.
Catholic chair Daly said he doesn’t see the issue going away without a “complete review” of the RFP process.
Hamilton boards have struggled to transport students to class on time for two years due to a shortage of drivers attributed to low pay, split shifts, high responsibility of the job and its seasonal nature.
School bus operators have urged both boards to compensate them for the minimum wage hike as they struggle to retain drivers.
The province says it’s providing Ontario boards with a projected $961.4 million for student transportation in 2018-19 — an increase of nearly $40 million since 2017-18.