Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra says the moves are in response to concerns over infighting and long-term financial unsustainability. <\/p>\n
Ontario is placing the Peel District School Board (PDSB) under provincial supervision and warning the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) it could be next, citing serious concerns about governance failures, internal conflict and long-term financial instability.<\/p>\n
In a news release on Wednesday<\/a>, Education Minister Paul Calandra said the province is intervening to stop \u201cmismanagement and disruption\u201d that he says is negatively impacting students and teachers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m taking immediate action to put an end to mismanagement and disruption at two school boards that are directly and negatively impacting both students and teachers,\u201d Calandra said in a statement.<\/p>\n At PDSB, the province says it has halted an imminent layoff plan that would have eliminated 60 classroom teaching jobs and disrupted learning for nearly 1,400 students in the middle of the school year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe board has also run deficits for five consecutive years, raising concerns about its long-term financial sustainability,\u201d the government said.<\/p>\n Peel has been given 14 days to respond to the minister\u2019s concerns, after which Calandra will decide whether to continue the supervision.<\/p>\n York Catholic has also been told it could be placed under supervision within 14 days if it fails to address what the province describes as \u201cpressing governance and financial concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe province says years of poor financial management at YCDSB have depleted its reserves, while high-risk assumptions in its recovery plan, frequent leadership turnover and ongoing governance issues have raised doubts about the board\u2019s ability to balance its budget.<\/p>\n The move comes less than a year after the province took over<\/a> both the Toronto District School Board and Toronto Catholic District School Board in June 2025, signalling a widening crackdown on what the province says are financially troubled school boards.<\/p>\n It should be noted that the takeovers are enabled by the Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025 (Bill 33)<\/a>.<\/p>\n How critics are responding to Bill 33<\/p>\n Critics have previously described the bill as undemocratic, as government supervision of boards removes the role of elected trustees, but Calandra previously said the law allows him to put boards back on track when they \u201cfall off the rails,\u201d citing the example of the Near North District School Board.<\/p>\n