York school board needs new leadership

Now that the York Region District School Board has been placed under review by Education Minister Mitzie Hunter, many will be looking for answers as to how it can turn itself around.

The review, which will be conducted by human rights expert Patrick Case and former deputy minister Suzanne Herbert, will likely make recommendations regarding the need for more equity training and increased transparency.

However, if the York board is serious about turning the page on its nadir, it would be wise to take a page from the once scandal-plagued Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and bring in new leadership.

York was once considered the crown jewel among Ontario’s school boards and was the site of many innovations that were eventually rolled out provincewide.

However, with the ignoring of racist incidents, senior administration officials resigning, and unconscionable behaviour by some of its leaders, it has clearly become dysfunctional. The situation it finds itself in is very similar to that of the TDSB, which itself was the subject of ministry-mandated reviews in recent years.

The initial TDSB review by Margaret Wilson chastised school trustees and recommended scaling back their influence. However, it completely ignored the role the director of education, the person that actually runs the school board, played in building its dysfunctional culture. And it was not until the TDSB actually replaced its director that things started to turn around.

Indeed, since taking the helm of the TDSB, current director John Malloy has brought a level of integrity and thoughtfulness that has long been missing from the organization.

Malloy was originally given an 18-month interim position at the TDSB, with the understanding he would not be eligible for the permanent job. Having previously worked at the Ministry of Education, he was seen by some as a choice forced on the board in order to prevent a provincial takeover.

But after just nine months, he so thoroughly impressed everyone he worked with that trustees quickly reversed themselves and offered him the permanent job. This is the type of leader York desperately needs. This is ironic because in 2014, Malloy was passed over for the top job at York by its trustees, despite widely being considered the best candidate and against the recommendation of the firm conducting the search.

Instead, the board decided to give the job to J. Phillip Parappally, who faced concerns about a lack of qualifications and weak references. Since that fateful decision, the York board has steadily dissipated all of its once-sterling reputation.

Much has been made of the racial epithet used by York trustee Nancy Elgie to describe a black parent, and there have been many calls for her to resign. But while it is clear she should resign out of a sense of decency, there is at least the possibility that York residents can vote her out of office at next year’s election.

However, when it comes to the board’s administration, the public lacks any similar mechanism to remove them for poor performance. Instead, it is up to the trustees of the board to take action, and take action they must.

To its credit, in an effort to begin to turn things around, the York board has elected a new chair, who appears determined to steer it in a new direction. However, this does not go nearly far enough.

When a large organization is failing, simply rearranging the chairs in the boardroom, while leaving the CEO intact, is going to accomplish very little. If York is serious about regaining the public trust, it needs to bring in new leadership.