We all agree that school boards must put students first, but the details matter. We need to talk about why students haven't been put first and how we will centre their needs going forward.
When I say "put students first," I mean we need:
-
A balanced, needs-based budget: We need a balanced budget and proper financial management of our resources. Deficits are often created when school boards do not receive enough money to meet our students’ needs. This has been an on-going crisis since I was an elementary student in the 1990s. The province must increase funding and allow the OCDSB to design a budget that centres the needs of our students, staff, and infrastructure. We all agree that we need more education assistants and other learning support workers in our classrooms. We can only achieve that if we demand more funding from the province. Shuffling money from one budget line to the next will only continue to fail our students.
-
An end to the cuts: Trustees are caught between two forces: the community demands the trustees increase frontline staffing and expand programs, while the province demands the trustees make cuts to balance a shrinking budget. When trustees refuse to make those cuts, the ministry intervenes to lay off staff and cut the programs anyway. We saw this most recently when the appointed Supervisor of the OCDSB oversaw the lay-offs of custodians and Indigenous Support Workers. The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario reported that school board funding is below the cost of our current service levels by $0.7 billion in 2026‑27, $1.2 billion in 2027-28 and $2.0 billion in 2028-29. I oppose the practice of balancing a shrinking budget by reducing the essential workers and programs that our students rely on.
-
Local democracy: We cannot represent the local school communities if trustees are excluded from decision-making. Supervision must end and trustees must be restored so that constituents’ voices are effectively represented. Trustees, when they take their community connections seriously, are essential links between OCDSB leadership and individual schools. Unfortunately, trustees no longer have the power to approve or reject the budget following recent reforms (Bill 33 and Bill 101). This means that trustees must hold OCDSB leadership and the Province to account by amplifying the voices of our constituents, documenting the needs of all students, and advocating for a better funding model. If elected, I will work with parent councils, education workers, students and their families to build community connections across this zone so that we can be more effective advocates for the changes we need.
-
Better data collection: We must craft evidence-based policies but the board is failing to properly track the needs of the current student population. The board is not transparently communicating how the needs of our students are (not) being met. For years, that data has been held by individual students and their families, who must fight to receive education assistant hours or admittance into specialized programs. The board must be a responsible steward of transparent, reliable data collection and analysis. Good policy-making and budgeting depends on it.
-
Human rights for all: Every single student and staff member deserves to learn and teach without threats of harassment, hate, or violence. This can only be accomplished if we increase learning support workers in the school and classrooms, and continue to provide up-to-date training and curriculum that teaches the entire school community how to be empathetic and respectful of all people. Complex societal issues need action from us all and our school system must be funded properly so that schools can play their part. Our future depends on it.
We have decades of evidence documenting the need for increased funding to reduce class sizes, support students' diverse needs, and provide safe environments. Now, we need to demand a funding model that meets those needs. As trustee, I will work with OCDSB leadership and the Province to increase funding levels so that our students can finally be put first. I will work alongside the network of parent councils, labour unions, and advocacy groups to ensure that the board of trustees is a partner in the struggle to put our students first.
With optimism for a better future,
Emily Quaile.