In Ontario’s education system, paul calandra is pushing a change that could reshape how school boards are governed while leaving elected trustees in place. The bill tabled Monday would cut the Toronto District School Board’s trustee count nearly in half, cap board sizes across the province, and create new non-elected executive roles.
What is changing for trustees in Ontario?
The Putting Student Achievement First Act keeps trustees elected, but it sharply narrows their role. Under the proposed changes, boards would be capped at 12 trustees, with five as the minimum. That would affect only the Toronto District School Board, which currently has 22 elected trustees.
The province is also limiting trustee honorariums to $10, 000 and tightening scrutiny of expenses. School boards would be barred from paying certain fees tied to trustee memberships and from covering costs for “non-essential” conferences. Discretionary spending would also be constrained.
Paul Calandra said the changes are meant to reduce “distractions” and refocus trustees on advocacy for parents. He added that their role will be changed “dramatically, ” and said he would not rule out further refinement if needed.
Why does the government say this reform is necessary?
The government says the bill responds to concerns about financial mismanagement at school boards across Ontario. In Calandra’s framing, the goal is to put student success back at the center of school governance and reduce division inside the system.
That message reflects a broader shift in power. Under the proposed structure, trustees would still be able to weigh in on budgets, but they would no longer be able to make changes to the budget drafted by the new chief executive officer. If trustees reject a budget, the matter could go to the Minister of Education for a final decision.
For families and staff, the change reaches beyond boardrooms. It affects who can shape spending priorities, how disagreements are resolved, and how much influence elected representatives retain over day-to-day school governance. The TDSB, with its large size and suspended trustees under provincial supervision, sits at the center of that shift.
Who will lead school board finances and operations now?
The legislation creates two new roles inside school boards. The director of education would become the chief executive officer, or CEO, with responsibility for financial decisions. That role would require a business background. A separate chief education officer would handle school decisions and would need teaching-related education.
In practice, that would move budget control away from trustees and toward a non-elected executive structure. The CEO would draft the budget and guide it through the process, while trustees could comment, suggest changes, and vote yes or no. But they would not be able to rewrite the budget themselves.
Calandra said the aim is to prevent further disruption and to keep the system focused on students. The province has also said the legislation leaves elected school boards in place outside the eight boards already under provincial supervision.
How could this reshape the balance of power at school boards?
For now, the clearest impact is on Toronto. The TDSB is the only board large enough to be directly affected by the cap on trustees. Still, the bill sets a new ceiling for all boards and signals that the province wants a smaller, more limited trustee role overall.
The change may also matter because it preserves elections while reducing authority. That combination could leave trustees accountable to voters but with fewer tools to shape outcomes. For some families, that may look like a cleaner chain of command. For others, it may feel like an elected layer has been kept in place but stripped of much of its influence.
In the boardroom where 22 trustees currently sit in Toronto, the future could look very different if the bill passes. The seats may still be there, but the power around them would not be the same.
Image suggestion: A wide view of a Toronto school board meeting room with empty chairs and a microphone at the front, reflecting paul calandra’s proposed governance changes.
