Near North District School Board trying to hit restart button

The Near North District School Board (NNDSB) is trying to hit the restart button.

That is the opinion of Wayne Joudrie, one of two special advisors with the Ministry of Education, mandated to provide the minister with advice and recommendations on ways to improve the NNDSB.

Joudrie and Wally Easton met with parents and guardians at a public meeting to get their feedback on areas identified as problematic at the board level.

A similar meeting was recently held in Parry Sound.  

After listening to their examples of mounting frustrations, Joudrie told the group of about 30, that he felt their pain.   

“But it would be our view that the board is making some honest efforts to reframe how it does business. They don’t want to point fingers or languish in the past, but they do want to move forward in some very positive ways. And we’ve seen evidence of that on a number of fronts,” said Joudrie

Having said that Joudrie also noted that the board has also made its share of missteps.

The areas identified in the advisors’ mandate are governance, which is how the board acts and how the senior team interacts with the board, as well as human resource functions and finance functions.

The board requested special support from the Minister of Education to improve the quality of its services.

“Quite frankly having Wally and I here is the first time I have ever seen this where the minister appointed special advisors. I don’t believe it has happened in the past except if a board was so bad that the minister put someone in to do an investigation in order to punish and correct the board,” said Joudrie.

“I have been in senior admin for 35 years now, and this is the first time I have been aware that they put someone in as an intervention before and at the request of the board. So, this is very unique in that respect.”

He went on to say the board is fully aware that it faces several challenges.  

“They acknowledge that they are struggling, but it is an indication from my perspective that they’re mature enough to acknowledge it and therefore ask the minister for help.”

One parent wanted to know just how serious the situation has become.   

“This is not mild. And it isn’t just this board. Having done the work supporting all the boards in the province for 8 years and watching beyond that, there has been a common urban legend around that Near North has troubles and they’ve had them for more than 10 years,” said Joudrie.

“You can point to the elected officials, you can point to the senior leadership, but there have been identified issues here for a long time.”

Just over 15-hundred people responded to a survey intended to give the advisors a sense of the community’s view of the “elephant called Near North District School Board.”

It showed the board greatly lacking when it came to it being transparent, open and accountable.  

That belief was evident when the conversation during the meeting turned to the Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) process with many parents saying the board has not clearly communicated its reasons for choosing to close Widdifield Secondary School in favour of Chippewa Secondary School.

“I think the accommodation review was only symptomatic. I think the key thing here is openness. Tell us what it is, but back it up with the facts and the information that we need to understand why things are happening, whether it is the accommodation review or whether it is anything else,” said Easton.  

“The information comes from staff. So, the staff provide the trustees. It has got to go through the trustees with the information, but make sure it is researched. Make sure it is factual. Check the numbers. I think that is probably one of the key things that we will identify moving forward.”

Joudrie stressed the importance of public engagement.

He said some school boards spend a significant amount of time and energy on community engagement making it one of their pillars, making sure their voices are heard and valued in everything that they do.

“A board that is working really well still needs to continue to engage their public in meaningful ways. Here in North Bay, because of challenges in the past, with a new board with a mandate to change things, it is absolutely critical,” said Joudrie.

Parent Glenn Paleczny said at the end of the night, the key for him was hearing the board is trying to hit the “reset” button.

“They know the board is dysfunctional. They have been here on and off for a month and a half. They said it is fairly serious and it is the first time I have ever heard anyone connected with the board say we have an issue. And the first step to getting better is realizing you have a problem. There has been a number of issues presented and hopefully they can make it better because we all want it better for our kids,” said Paleczny.

“It was good to see there were some senior staff here listening. Parents were here just trying to be constructive. We’re not liking what we’re seeing. We’re seeing other boards grow and the Near North Board shrink. Steady as she goes is not working so hopefully, they can fix it.”

Once the report is complete, it will be handed off to the Education Minister.

“When the Minister has received reports like this in the past, sometimes the minister sits on it for a month or two and sometimes they turn them around right away. I can’t predict what the minister will do in this situation,” said Joudrie.

“We can make recommendations but if the folks here don’t understand what’s behind the recommendations, they’ll try but they probably won’t succeed. They’re going to need some explicit coaching and that is on the political front and on the education front.”