Education at the crossroads. Visions no longer “set in stone”

TORONTO – Paul Calandra, yes, the Minister of Education for Ontario, seems to have found the origin of the rot afflicting, and spreading through, our school systems: individuals on ego trips with personal agenda that have little to do with in-class performance of children. It has ever been thus. Except that this Minister appears to be “calling them out” and “shaming them” as part of a plan to put in place a correcting governance plan to win the favour of parents in the process.

And rightly so.

Publicly funded education is a complex business in Ontario. A Ministry that competes with other government agencies for the circa $38 billion annually from the provincial budget; a bureaucracy that largely sets the curriculum; four large teachers’ unions with whom they negotiate salaries and benefits; 72 distinct school jurisdictions /boards (each headed by a Director with professional staff to “operationalize” the government’s plan) and a Board of trustees elected by eligible parent/voters – some Catholic, others not, as per our Constitution – to represent parental interests.

Some of those trustees and Directors have given transparency, accountability and fiscal responsibility a bad name in pursuit of Lord only knows what. The Toronto Catholic District School Board, for example, in 2023 converted a $100 million in-year surplus into a $48 million deficit by December 31. Minister Calandra, a prolific user of social media, says the current deficit stands at $75 million. He has commissioned independent accounting firms to assess the practices of [at least] five boards, Toronto Catholic – a $1.3 billion enterprise – being but one. Their findings were not pretty. He was compelled to “dissolve” them.

Apparently, Minister Calandra is contemplating changes to the Boards that would involve Ministerially appointed trustees, and, in the case of Catholic School Boards, allowing for the archbishop to appoint a number of trustees to safeguard the denominational/religious rights of Catholics.

The Corriere has learned from confidential sources that this afternoon, some trustees (primarily Toronto Catholic) have been invited to the diocese’s offices for an informal meeting with the Cardinal on the matter. While we are writing, the news has not been confirmed by the diocese.

It is not clear if a confession beforehand is mandatory. Catholic Trustees are required to swear allegiance to His Majesty and to the Magisterium (the Church) every November, as the Board roles are reassigned. Minister Calandra could have an ally in this, as some “Catholic” trustees are ineligible by virtue of not being Catholic ratepayers, hence unqualified.

Toronto trustees seem to have re-discovered their religious raison d’etre; it is no longer as fashionable to be in the vanguard of the woke wave.

Toronto and York trustees, who are on a mission to depict their colleagues as conservative traditionalist unworthy of the modernist warriors’ accolades for unrestrained freedom, unfettered by any sense of moderation and decorum, have given Minister Calandra newer fodder for the perception of petty operatives determined to wreak havoc on the system: they have engaged in deliberate harassment of their own colleagues in the Courts and professional institutions.

In York, aided and abetted by Union reps, they inseminate false and fake news in local news outlets to distract the public from valuable and innovative programs funded by public private partnership.

How can Minister Calandra avoid dealing with that? He cannot; just as he cannot ignore the $15price tag for milkshakes the Chair of Toronto Catholic paid at HolyShakes.

In the pics above: Minister Calandra (from his Twitter page @PaulCalandra), Cardinal Leo (from www.archtoronto.org) and the TCDSB (from their website); below, a video published by Minister Calandra on his Twitter X page 

While trustees feud, our students pay the price. Enough is enough.

Our focus is to provide students with better outcomes, and teachers and educators with the tools they need to help students succeed. pic.twitter.com/qO7GZ1oJj1

— Paul Calandra (@PaulCalandra) September 24, 2025

More Articles by the Same Author:

• Istruzione: niente è più scolpito nel marmo
• Racalmutesi’s philosophy: when life is tough, roll up your sleeves
• Quando la vita è dura, rimbocchiamoci le maniche: la filosofia racalmutese celebrata ad Hamilton
• Fake or fabricated issues to undermine Catholic Education
• YCDSB, invenzione di fatti inesistenti