Trustees a lifeline of public education; we can’t afford to lose them

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Everywhere I go, I hear the same troubling question—in public meetings, in online discussions, and even in the hallways of government: Do we even need school trustees?

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Let me answer this question clearly and without hesitation: Yes. We need confidants now more than ever.

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For more than two centuries, trustees have been the heart of Ontario's public education administration. We are not remote decision makers. We are your neighbors. We are the ones who show up at your school events, PTA meetings and community centers to hear what matters most to you and your children.

When a parent desperately needs help or a student feels lost in the system, trustees step forward. We are listening. We challenge. We protect.

Trustees are the democratic guardian of public education. Remove them and you are removing the only selected vote dedicated exclusively to the interests of students and families. At a time when education is struggling due to lack of funding, political polarization, mental health needs, and increasing class complexity, efforts to reduce the number of trustees will not be effective—they will silence communities.

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Demanding work

The work is demanding. It's emotionally difficult.

Sometimes it feels like I'm pushing a boulder up a mountain under the weight of bureaucracy, public misunderstanding and political agendas. But trustees do it because we believe in something bigger than ourselves: the transformative power of public education.

Education policy cannot be shaped solely in the back corridors of Queens Park. Trustees ensure that these realities are never lost in policy documents or budget tables. We bring humanity to decision-making and champion the stories that numbers can't tell.

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At a time when trust in public institutions is eroding and misinformation is spreading faster than the truth, the answer is not weakening local governance. The answer is to strengthen it, invest in it and value it.

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Because a school system without trustees is a system without community voice, accountability, or local understanding that ensures that every child—not just the loudest or most privileged—gets the education they deserve.

The foundation of our democracy

Public education is the foundation of our democracy. Trustees are its protectors.

Recent improvements in trustee accountability under former education ministers prove that strong local governance works. Removing trustees now would reverse that progress and silence voices that reflect the needs of students, families and communities, especially in rural areas where schools are the bedrock of community life.

Trustees are the bridge between local communities and the decisions that shape education. Without them, decisions about budgets, programs and school closures risk being made in Queens Park without taking local considerations into account.

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Hold school boards accountable

Elected trustees hold boards accountable, protect programs, and ensure a focus on a “back to basics” approach that prioritizes reading, math, and basic skills over current fads and unnecessary experiments. Ontario parents, taxpayers and students deserve schools that are well-run, rooted in their communities and committed to core learning. Trustees ensure that the vision becomes reality.

Eliminate the trustees and you eliminate local control, advocacy in rural, remote areas and the North, and the emphasis on fundamental principles. We simply can't afford it.

— Arlene Morrell is a trustee and former chair of the Thames Valley DSB, representing the Middlesex district, and president of the Canadian Home and School Federation.

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