Oxford County Council rejects TVDSB trustee adoption

Dave Cripps was one of two Oxford TVDSB trustees to ask Oxford County Council to adopt them at a recent council meeting. Councillors received the presentation as information as they had no jurisdiction over Ministry of Education matters.

By Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A pair of Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) trustees asked Oxford County Council to ‘adopt’ them into the fold. Ultimately, councillors accepted the request as information since there is no available mechanism to make that happen.

The Ontario Ministry of Education announced the results of an audit into the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) on April 23. As a result, the government appointed Paul Boniferro to oversee the board and, in doing so, replaced the Board of Trustees. As long as TVDSB is under supervision, Boniferro will make all decisions normally made by the board. Trustees are also no longer paid and have had their email access removed.

“Let me start by saying we are here representing our elected positions as Oxford County’s public school board trustees and we are not here representing the TVDSB,” exclaimed trustee Leanne Hopkins. “All our resources as trustee…have been removed, and really the only role we have currently under the supervision is advocacy,” she added.

Hopkins talked about concerns about planning for the new Turtle Island elementary school in Woodstock, which is slated to open next year. She said families are reaching out, saying their children will be sent to different schools next week.

“They have one going to Hickson and one going to Zorra. You can see that could be an issue for our families…as it could add a stress level. Without having a local representative there to assist them in a pathway to come to a resolution for their issue…could leave them without that being answered.”

Trustee Dave Cripps echoed concerns regarding communication between the board and families as September and a return to school are imminent.

“We are likely to see an influx of questions from Oxford County residents for everything from transportation, where folks have their kids going to school, and why they are split across different schools.”

He added that in the absence of trustees, it will be very difficult to locate the correct resource at the board to resolve issues in a timely manner.

“Those are the pieces I am most concerned about at this point. Leanne and I remain committed to that advocacy to support people through navigation of the system and communication.”

Councillor and Woodstock Mayor Jerry Acchione asked Cripps what the best way is for parents to get answers to their local education questions.

“You should be directing residents to reach out to MPP Ernie Hardeman’s office. (They) have been provided with a 1-800 number for someone in Toronto who is supposed to answer those queries. Our anecdotal information tells us those aren’t being responded to very quickly.”

He added the alternative is to reach out to a superintendent or the TVDSB’s director of education, Bill Tucker.

“The challenge with that, as you can imagine, is the director…is a very busy man and tends not to be able to respond in a timely fashion.”

One question on the minds of many people affected by the province’s takeover is how long the situation is going to last. Deputy Warden and Ingersoll Mayor Brian Petrie posed that question to Cripps.

“The supervisor will be in place until such time as the budget deficit is turned into a one per cent surplus. Based on the structural nature of the deficit at TVDSB, it is likely to be two cycles, so likely until 2027.”

Petrie added he doesn’t have children but understands the importance of education and added the county is fortunate to have Cripps and Hopkins advocating for parents and students. His issue with the adoption request is the lack of jurisdiction.

“From my short research, the trustees are clearly under the Ministry of Education, so it makes it difficult to be able to step in like that. But I certainly would advocate for the return of those functions that are not directly related to any sort of financial matters.”

Acchione said he has reached out to the pair of trustees on many occasions, so families were able to get the help they needed to navigate the local education landscape. He added

“I’m not really sure how we go about doing that as a council and what authorities, if any, we would have. I would certainly support both of them as great advocates for all of Oxford County and all the changes going on.”

He added he would support any opportunity to advocate to the Ministry of Education.

“To say listen, we are having people in our neighbourhoods dealing with our local problems is just an absolute must.”

Warden Marcus had the final say following the trustee’s presentation and took the opportunity   

“It’s unfortunate some of the communication around the school board being placed under supervisorship paints all the trustees with the same brush. I know for a fact there are many, unfortunately, a minority of trustees who have pointed out the exact reasons why the board is in this position.”