THE CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR ROBIN PILKEY

Challenge: Is the TDSB too big? The board is holding its breath for a report on this by former Toronto mayor Barbara Hall at the request of Queen’s Park. While the province is delaying its release, trustees warn deconstructing the mega-board, now functioning more smoothly since last year’s election brought 11 new faces to the table, could cost taxpayers $100 million and cause needless upheaval. Context: This report is the latest in a series of provincially ordered audits and studies of the troubled TDSB, but it’s not clear why this panel was asked to look at whether the board should be broken into smaller parts, except that Premier Kathleen Wynne is said to favour the idea. Where she stands: Pilkey doesn’t think the TDSB is too big, and said so to members of Hall’s panel. “A couple of them asked me, ‘Don’t you think there’s too many senior staff?’ I said, ‘Why do you think that? It’s a board with a $3-billion budget, 230,000 students and nearly 40,000 staff.’ There are lots of things around that are big, but we don’t say, ‘Hey, let’s break up the province!’ I think we would just end up with four smaller boards with all the same problems and create inequities across the system.”

Challenge: Beating a bad rap Talk about drama: police called to a board meeting to protect staff from . . . trustees. A director laying criminal charges (later dropped) against a trustee for forcible confinement. A former trustee who tweeted insults about his own board. Maintenance staff caught overbilling for small jobs like installing a pencil sharpener. What kind of fixer does it take to repair that kind of public relations nightmare? Context: Despite the local drama, the largest board in Canada draws educators from around the world to study how it helps students of all incomes do so well. Lost amid the turmoil at the board table is the fact the TDSB is a world leader in closing the gap between students of widely differ- ent backgrounds. Where she stands: “The impression parents often get is that we’re useless as a board, but the board is doing some fantastic things.” As a newcomer, she seems to have sidestepped old backroom factions, and says she believes a strong leader can keep even a big board on track. “There is some management (of trustees) that’s required of the chair as a leader, right? For the last few years the focus has been so much on individuals and actions not related to education; I think it’s important we move past that. You don’t run for school trustee if you don’t care about education; it’s a full-time job on a $25,000 salary.”

Challenge: School closings With 130 schools less than 60 per cent full, the heat is on the TDSB to start unloading some of that empty space. Education Minister Liz Sandals demanded the board unveil a three-year capital plan last spring and consultations on possible closings are to begin in some corners of the city. Context: Some trustees have balked at closing underused schools, arguing against losing public properties that could be used instead as community hubs. They also point to Toronto neighbourhoods that are bouncing back with new developments. But the province gives school boards money to build new schools only after they have closed under-attended ones. Where she stands: “You can’t just say, ‘I’m never doing that’ (closing a school) — that’s ridiculous. We have an obligation as trustees to continuously look at the system to make sure we have the right number of schools and kids in the right places . . . Part of being a responsible trustee is making decisions that will be hard.” Some will be high schools, which need a critical mass to offer enough programs to give teens a broad taste of future careers. “I find it hard to believe you can do that in a high school with 300 kids,” she says. Louise Brown