Trustees refuse to endorse minister's directive

Standing on the strength of their year-long stance and overwhelming support from the community, trustees of the Dufferin- Peel Catholic District School Board directed staff to not comply with an order from Minister of Education, Kathleen Wynne to implement a deficit management plan created by staff and ministry advisor Peter Lauwers; a plan the trustees had already rejected Sept. 14 and refused to reconsider Sept. 26. Trustees' actions Oct. 2 set the stage for a possible takeover of the board by a supervisor, a move that Minister Wynne vehemently opposed as a trustee with the Toronto District School Board in 2003.

At a special board meeting Sept. 14, trustees rejected a deficit reduction plan that would have produced a balanced budget in two years. While rejecting the plan, trustees did approve approximately $10 million in economies. This is in addition to economies of approximately $13 million achieved from December 2005 to August 2006. The economies approved on Sept. 14 reduced the board's projected 2006-07 operating deficit to approximately $7.5 million.

"We have done our part and taken a tremendous chunk out of the system already," said board chair Peter Ferreira. "Without an increase in benchmark funding to address the chronically deficient funding formula, we will be right back in a deep hole again next year. Our community has said enough is enough and we have heard them. We won't do it. We won't swing the ministry's axe to fix a problem they promised to fix when they were elected."

"We don't want a supervisor, just as Minister Wynne didn't want one when she was in our position," added Ferreira. "We would like to work with this government but we can't do all the heavy lifting. The government must do its part and make the funding formula reflect the reality of operating a large urban school board."

The Minister of Education is now in a position to seek approval from Cabinet to appoint a supervisor to take over control of the board, one of the largest in Ontario with approximately 89,000 students in 142 schools.