Bishop Allen Academy students scattered in the wind
TORONTO – At some point, School boards that have been “placed under supervision” will have to give an account explaining their costs, outcomes and processes for what they have done or are about to do for the taxpayers whose tax dollars sustain them.
What we know, so far, is that independent auditing firms commissioned by the Ministry of Education in Ontario found the planning and accounting practices of those boards to be unreliable at best and their practices unacceptable. Those auditor/investigators recommended that the business component of the boards’ authority – the operational side of their business – ought to be vested in the Minister. To wit, until further notice, the operational functions of said boards can only be authorized by the Minister, through his/her direct representative, the Commissioner.
The Commissioner for the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) was not at the Town Hall meeting, convened last Wednesday, October 1, at the Bishop Allen Academy (BAA). The Associate Director of Corporate Services and Chief Commercial Officer did attend.
It was a “heads up” (aided by a slide presentation) to parents to explain the “process” by which the [current] student population of 1,460 teenagers would be transferred to another site, probably by next September 2026, and perhaps [but unlikely] earlier. The Associate Director, Derek Boyce, was unwilling, or unprepared, to address any other type of exchange. He claimed it was not his role to explain the why and the timing of the transfer.
It turns out that the why and wherefore is the main – but not the only – issue of interest to the parents. Mr. Boyce wanted to concentrate on approvals for construction processes [and attendant matters] and the four location alternatives for BAA, and he immediately added that he was not there to discuss the Don Bosco (DB) vs Scarlett Heights (SH) option: Don Bosco should be vacant by next September.
Parents were remarkably polite but insistent that their option (except for one intervenor) – Scarlett Heights – made more sense. For one thing, SH, while 6.7km to the north, is much closer than DB, 9.7 km to the northwest. The travelling time to and from DB required would inhibit participation in extra-curricular activities. Two-way trips would take a minimum of two hours daily, in ideal weather and traffic conditions, likely three hours in adverse circumstance.
One parent noted that it would require the TCDSB to acquire/lease a convoy of 32 busses daily, and at what additional cost? Mr. Boyce replied that the transportation logistics had not been finalized, but the TCDSB was prepared to issue TTC Presto cards monthly as an accommodation.
When parents tried to unveil the rationale behind not reconsidering the decision to exclude SH as an option, the responses became defensive until Mr. Boyce “admitted” that Ministry financing for the project might diminish or be withdrawn completely: “use it for what we intend or lose it”.
Moreover, when contested on issues and costs relative to refurbishing locations allegedly unfit for student use (…SH, recently vacated by the Toronto District School Board), Mr Boyce repeatedly replied that he had not relied on any written report. In any event the decision was not up for appeal, he said.
Other parents who wondered if any of the calculations had taken into account the potential loss of students to the Board (and the funds attached to them). His nonresponse prompted an audience reaction that the number of students who had been similarly “transferred” from Dante Alighieri to DB had dropped to 50% of the original, and with them a loss of $6,000,000 annually in income to the Board. Again, he had not come to discuss these issues or options.
At approximately $15,000 in Provincial in Grants for Student Needs, BA currently represents an annual income of $ 22,000,000 to the Board. One could understand why parents might be concerned, as the auditors had been last Spring when they examined the books of the TCDSB – and others. Trustees can only put their stamp of approval on the books presented by the Staff.
In the pics below, two moments of the meeting and the school (photos: Corriere Canadese)
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