Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra at a school in Ottawa, on Dec. 5, 2025.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Ontario’s Education Minister announced Wednesday that he is taking over the second-largest school board in the province, bringing the total number of boards currently under supervision to seven, and is threatening to seize control of another board in two weeks if it does not address governance and financial concerns.
Paul Calandra said in a news release that he is assuming control of the Peel District School Board (PDSB) immediately and has halted its plan to lay off 60 teachers to avoid disrupting learning for nearly 1,400 students in the middle of the school year.
The board has also run a deficit for five straight years, affecting its long-term financial sustainability, the province added in the release.
The board has been given two weeks to respond to Mr. Calandra’s concerns. The minister said he will then decide whether to continue with supervision.
“The action I am taking at the PDSB will put an immediate halt to a disruptive mid-year upheaval in staffing that would have created uncertainty for parents, students and teachers alike,” Mr. Calandra said.
Ontario puts sixth school board under supervision after complaints from angry parents
Critics called Wednesday’s announcement an unprecedented amount of “government interference” in the province’s education system.
The government also said it will take over the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) if it fails to appropriately respond to “pressing governance and financial concerns” in the next 14 days.
Those concerns, the province said, include high-risk financial assumptions in the board’s financial recovery plan, frequent changes in leadership and continuing governance issues.
“I am also putting the YCDSB on notice that the infighting, disruption and serious financial concerns that have undermined student success for years need to end immediately, with every penny of public funding directed to support students in the classroom,” Mr. Calendra said.
Under the Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, a controversial piece of legislation that passed last November, the minister has the power to issue binding directions or place a board under supervision if there is concern about a matter of public interest.
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The province had already placed five school boards under supervision prior to the adoption of the act: the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and the Thames Valley District School Board.
All of the boards were taken over after investigations ordered by the province found evidence of financial mismanagement.
The province took control of the Near North District School Board last December.
Peel District School Board chair David Green and York Catholic District School Board chair Maria Iafrate did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
A prominent Ontario teachers’ union was critical of the province’s actions.
“This level of government interference is unprecedented in Ontario’s education system and raises serious questions about the government’s real motives,” said Martha Hradowy, president of the Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers’ Federation, which represents more than 60,000 education workers, in a statement.
“For years, education unions and school boards have been sounding the alarm about provincewide underfunding and staffing shortages. It is not clear how supervision addresses any of those pressing issues. In fact, it risks distracting from them.”
Placing a board under supervision should always be a “last resort,” said Kathleen Woodcock, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, in a statement e-mailed to The Globe and Mail.
“When it happens, there should be a clear, publicly communicated plan outlining expectations for everyone involved, including a transparent path back to full local governance,” she said.