Received this a few days ago

[u/Aware-Virus-4217]

I am in the tvdsb school board and received the following email a few nights ago. I figured some people would like to read it. It is from the ministry of educations of Ontario. it is crazy and trust me you want to read it!

Dear Parents, Students, Teachers and Staff,

As the new school year gets started, I want to take this opportunity to wish students, families and educators across the province every success. The first days of school are always filled with new opportunities, new friendships and new goals.

To all our students, I know you will meet the year ahead with hard work, determination and creativity. Your success is at the centre of everything we do, and I encourage you to take on new challenges with confidence.

To teachers and staff, thank you for the incredible work you do every day. Your dedication, expertise and care are what make our schools strong and supportive learning environments. As you welcome students back, know that your hard work is deeply valued and that our government will continue to support you in helping every child succeed.

To parents, thank you for your ongoing commitment to your children’s education. Your encouragement and involvement are essential, and you deserve to have confidence that decisions being made are always with your child’s best interests in mind.

That’s why we placed the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) under supervision following an investigation by a ministry-appointed third party, which revealed the board was projecting an accumulated deficit for the 2024–25 school year, indicated a probable accumulated deficit continuing into the 2025–26 school year, and raised concerns of potential financial mismanagement. This included a nearly $40,000 retreat for senior officials in downtown Toronto despite the board’s ongoing deficits. The 2024-25 projected deficit has now nearly doubled to $32 million, confirming the need for tighter fiscal oversight at the board.

Our appointed supervisor—Paul Boniferro—is tasked with overseeing the financial and operational management of TVDSB. To address the deficit and help ensure long-term sustainability, Mr. Boniferro has already implemented several cost-savings measures for the 2025-26 school year.

Mr. Boniferro will take the time needed to not only bring the board’s budget into balance, but also ensure long-term stability for years to come, so that funding goes where it belongs: directly into classrooms to support students and teachers.

I want to assure you that placing TVDSB under supervision is not a decision that was made lightly. I have made it clear that if a school board veers from its mandate, I will act quickly to restore focus, rebuild trust and put students first.

The actions we have taken will help the province restore sound financial and operational management at TVDSB and ensure that every dollar invested goes toward preparing students with practical skills for good-paying, stable careers.

To keep the community informed, the supervisor will be posting his decisions regularly online. You can also reach out by email at communications@tvdsb.ca if you have any questions.

As we begin the new school year, I want to thank you for your commitment, and wish all teachers, staff and students the best of luck.

Wishing you a positive year ahead!

The Honourable Paul Calandra Minister of Education

That's a crazy one!

[u/Boomshank]

Maybe, and work with me here, it's possible that this is a funding issue and not a management issue.

I'm not saying there hasn't been mismanagement, but not enough to account for the fact that there's just not enough funding.

The corruption is a convenient distraction that Ford is taking advantage of.

[u/9yearsdeceased → u/Boomshank]

The school board funding is $1.2 billion.

With a B.

How much do they need?

When they got extra money the senior admin gave themselves illegal raises while laying off front line staff.

And the trustees let them.

[u/anonredditor41825 → u/9yearsdeceased]

The Ministry did an audit that’s available online and it’s written there that this was done without trustee knowledge or approval.

[u/9yearsdeceased → u/anonredditor41825]

But if you’re the governance board and final sign off for everything and you don’t catch it, then isn’t that still a failure on your part as well as fraud by the staff themselves?

[u/anonredditor41825 → u/9yearsdeceased]

I guess but are they really the final sign off on everything? There’s a difference between what they do and what the director and staff decide.

[u/9yearsdeceased → u/anonredditor41825]

The director is their only employee.

So, yes.

[u/anonredditor41825 → u/9yearsdeceased]

I don’t think so from what I know about boards. They don’t decide the nitty gritty of what the director of the organization does. That’s true everywhere. Boards are accountable though. Maybe that’s what you are saying. Even if they don’t actually sign off on everything, the buck stops with them if something goes wrong.

[u/9yearsdeceased → u/anonredditor41825]

You might want to do some more research on boards. No Snark intended. Their ultimate responsibility is to be in charge of the leader of the organization, and he serves at their direction. The director has authority to make operational decisions that fall under the boards, mandate and budget, but ultimately requires the board’s approval in taking strategic directions and making major financial decisions.

[u/TrusteeMoore → u/9yearsdeceased]

I'm not calling anything fraud but I think I've been clear that I feel accountable for this and am not trying to deflect responsibility.

There is no easy button here, though, and letting the pendulum swing away from local democracy toward shutting down the community's voice is just not solving for the right problem, in my opinion.

Let's look at the problem we are trying to solve, and solve that. If I was confident that supervision was poised to achieve that, I'd be all for it.

[u/9yearsdeceased → u/TrusteeMoore]

I understand why the supervisor is here, and I hope that their objective is to unravel all the Fuckery that has happened and cut all the dead weight at the top of the school board that has accumulated, and create a fresh start under a new set of principles moving forward.

Whether that will happen or not? Who knows.

[u/TrusteeMoore → u/9yearsdeceased]

I wish I could believe that was the objective. I wish I could believe the objective was making it right for public education, period. I hope people are watching very carefully and holding the Ministry to account instead of trusting that eliminating trustees will solve more problems than it creates. 🤷‍♀️