School board trustees on the ballot this October, despite stripped of their power
Posted Aug 16, 2026 10:05:50 AM.
Last Updated Aug 17, 2026 11:01:42 AM.
Elections for Ottawa School Board trustees are happening this October, and those elected might find themselves with less power following the province appointing a supervisor of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB).
Since 2021 the OCDSB has been reporting financial deficits for the last three fiscal years. By 2023 and 2024, the board had depleted all of its reserves over $5.9 million dollars.
In response, Minister of Education Paul Calandra appointed Robert Plamondon as supervisor to take over governance and decision-making functions of the OCDSB, which includes financial management, policy implementation and operational oversight. This came into effect June 2025.
Lyra Evans, a current school board trustee, said despite the lack of oversight, it is still important to hold these elections.
“The election has to happen because the supervision could lift at any point when the supervisor deems it is time to be lifted, and if elections were not held, you would not have a group of trustees to step into that role.”
The bill, called the Putting Student Achievement First Act, 2026, proposes that the Director of Education will become known as the CEO. They will be required to have business qualifications and will be responsible for financial and operational oversight.
While the position of school board trustee will remain, the bill proposes to limit their honoraria and discretionary expenses. They will also need to pay for certain membership fees to external organizations out-of-pocket and improve their oversight over subsidiaries and their use of public funds. It also aims to cap the number of elected trustees at a maximum of 12.
While the CEO will lead budget development, the Minister of Education will have final say over budget matters when trustees cannot come to an agreement.
“I think it’s a terrible decision,” said Brandon Ray, who is running for Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustee in Zone 11. “As a potential trustee, I am a member of this community, my daughter goes to a school in this community. Whereas the custodianship of the board is done through an office in Toronto, and it’s not part of this community.”
Liberal MPP and opposition leader John Fraser said Doug Ford’s decision to have an election for trustees with no ability to serve the families they represent is a “farce.”
“The bigger picture is the fact that the government has taken over eight school boards and they’re trying to run everything from downtown Toronto to Queen’s park,” he said. “There are 5,000 schools in Ontario, there are two million students, 72 boards. It won’t work. It’s never worked.”
At this time, the Minister of Education has not yet provided a comment.
