A Promise Fulfulled: the DSBN Highlights and Red Flags

Last night, I fulfilled a long-standing promise and attended a DSBN Board of Trustees meeting.

Since the last school board elections, I've been trying to give the board a chance to prove itself. Like many citizens in Niagara, I was shocked that the board's decision to sell Parliament Oak School was made in camera (private). There is a very short list of issues public bodies should ethically discuss or decide out of public view. It is surprising the sale of a public asset was one of them. The secrecy did, in my view, lower the public confidence in the DSBN. In particular, the public does not understand why the board did not sell the property to the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Before the next election, everyone should ask their trustees how they voted. I understand that they can state their own vote, but they cannot disclose anyone else's.

I could only attend a meeting objectively once my worries about that decision weren't so prominent.

There were highlights to the evening's proceedings:

It was great to see members of the community who are doing wonderful things for our students recognized. Bonnie Boichuck, Caroline Bonfield, and Patti Lucas are amazing people and all of us are lucky to have them here in Niagara.

I also enjoyed seeing the mural created by "the mural girls" at Governor Simcoe Secondary School. Exemplary teachers of the arts were also recognized by local arts organizations...since my own daughter is worried about the shortage of arts instruction, resources and materials in her own school. it was heartening to see arts take cente stage at the meeting.

Less encouraging? Watching trustees receive reports and adopt recommended motions without discussion of report contents. Learning that they have as little as 48 hours to examine those reports was also disheartening. Especially when most of the comments in the meeting consisted of the board congratulating itself. That was a red flag for me to start paying closer attention.

Especially shocking? The report on the student achievement improvement plan that included consultation with Indigenous communities in Niagara was not discussed, but covered in praise for the board and then dismissed with "Thanks for making this job easy!"

It is hard to imagine meaningful student achievement improvement being easy. It is hard to imagine meaningful consultation with Indigenous communities being meaningful and genuine when the comments are full of praise for the board and not for result. I am personally aware of one community group that is watching the DSBN out of concern for what it sees as a failure to respond appropriately to incidents of racism against students. In this context, the acceptance of the report without thorough discussion also raised a huge red flag.

How does one respond to red flags? Well, I'll attend another meeting and see if they are waving again. If they are, I'll have to examine my conscience and existing policies to see if I am required to act.


What external factors are influencing my thoughts on this issue?Well, if there is one thing citizens of Niagara learned from another public board that created the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority mess, it is that the public needs to take a more active role in watching, discussing and questioning the actions of public boards and committees. School boards probably need the same attention to prevent more controversy.