The five Near North Board trustee candidates for North Bay and West Nipissing say the province maintaining control of the school board is not a long-term solution and question what’s next, and what role the elected body will have.
They point to the democratic process and giving the community a voice, through elected trustees, to provide governance, accountability, oversight, and more.
After Ontario’s Education Minister said this week he has no plans to relinquish the Ministry’s control over the board “anytime soon’, we reached out to the five candidates to provide a brief statement, garnering their reaction and how they feel this may impact or impede their work as a trustee, if elected on Oct. 26. Their responses are below.
[RELATED] Province won’t relinquish control of Near North Board ‘anytime soon’
Jay Aspin provided the following statement:
“For the long run, students, staff and parents will be better served by locally elected community voices – it’s the democratic Canadian way that served education in Ontario well for the past two centuries. We need to avoid an autocratic, Trump-like, top-down system from Queens Park.”
John Gill provided the following statement:
“Minister Calandra’s comments are a direct consequence of serious governance and leadership failures at the Near North board and a breakdown of public trust. Provincial supervision didn’t happen in a vacuum—the Ministry’s own review documented those problems, and the board was ultimately placed under supervision after failing to comply with all of the Minister’s binding directions.
But indefinite provincial control can’t be the end goal. Families in North Bay and West Nipissing are still electing trustees on October 26, and they deserve to know what role those representatives will have while the supervisor retains control.
That’s why I’ve already written to Minister Calandra asking for clarification. If elected, my focus won’t be fighting the province. It will be demonstrating the transparency, accountability and responsible governance necessary to rebuild public trust—and working toward a clear roadmap for eventually returning governance to locally elected trustees.”
Louise Sargent provided the following statement:
“Electing Trustees is a democratic process that the Minister of Education heard clearly from voters to continue.
In order to respect this process, I would like to hear the Minister answer the following question: What do the Near North District School Board of Trustees need to do in order to be re-instated as soon as possible?”
Bill Steer provided the following statement:
“I am running for trustee again because I believe local communities should have a strong voice in the education of their children, and because I want to help ensure every student in the Near North has the opportunity to succeed.
I understand why the minister intervened, and I don’t think anyone should pretend that everything was working perfectly before provincial supervision. But a new group of trustees will be elected on Oct. 26, and I believe they should be given the opportunity to demonstrate that they can provide the strong, accountable and transparent leadership our communities expect.
Trustees are elected by local voters to represent local communities. That democratic mandate matters. If re-elected, my focus will be on working constructively with the minister, the ministry, staff, families, and my fellow trustees to get the board back to a place where local elected trustees can once again be responsible for local decisions.
“Provincial oversight may have been necessary, but it should not become a substitute for local democratic governance.”
Darlene Vanderlee provided the following statement:
“Minister Calandra has made it clear that provincial supervision of the Near North District School Board will continue, with no clear timeline or transitional plan. However, the Ministry should show leadership and set clear guidelines for a transition plan back to the community.
I also respectfully disagree with Minister Calandra’s suggestion that governance problems mean elected trustees no longer have a significant role. We have an electoral process in place at the municipal level in this province. On October 26, a newly elected Board of Trustees will be voted in. As a candidate for trustee, I believe we need to focus on what comes next. Our community deserves transparent, accountable governance, responsible oversight of public resources, and a school board that keeps students at the centre of its decisions.
I am running because I believe in the democratic electoral process we have in place in this province. I have spent 30-plus years working in education and 10 years serving on a similar community-based board, including 3 years as president. That experience has taught me that when governance fails, the answer is stronger accountability and better leadership, not less connection to the community.
The province has a responsibility to address what went wrong at the Near North board. There is an important distinction between problems in how a board was governed and the question of whether local communities should have a voice in public education. Our community deserves a meaningful local voice in what comes next.
Minister Calandra’s reinstatement of authority to the newly elected Board of Trustees on October 26 is what the students and families of this community rightfully deserve.”
