The morning bell is about to ring at Father Serra Catholic School, but parents hurrying to drop off their kids stop in the drizzle to shake hands with a trustee seeking re-election.
asserted
parents → ring → election
“How is everything going?” asks Markus de Domenico, who’s running to represent this Etobicoke ward in the city’s Catholic board.
asserted
who → go → board
As he stands in front of the school, handing out campaign postcards, parents raise various concerns, including when the area’s new high school will open, with one father calling it “the number one local issue.”
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father → stand → it
“We’re not being told — the public’s not being told,” says de Domenico, adding he plans to hold a public demonstration to press for answers.
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he → tell → answers
“We’re going to shake the tree.”
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We → go → tree
But how much influence will Toronto trustees have beyond shaking the tree?
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trustees → have → tree
With both Toronto school boards under provincial supervision and trustees stripped of decision-making powers, the Oct. 26 municipal election raises questions about what candidates can promise voters, and what those elected can actually accomplish.
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candidates → strip → what
A governance revamp has left trustees with limited roles.
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revamp → leave → roles
While a TDSB trustee is hesitating to run again, others say they can still be constructive.
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they → hesitate → ?
A governance revamp has left trustees with limited roles.
asserted
revamp → leave → roles
While a TDSB trustee is hesitating to run again, others say they can still be constructive.
asserted
they → hesitate → ?
The issue extends beyond the eight Ontario boards currently under provincial control.
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issue → extend → control
Recent legislation has dramatically narrowed the role of trustees provincewide.
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legislation → narrow → trustees
Although once responsible for overseeing budgets, setting policy direction, and participating in central collective bargaining, their role now focuses primarily on parent and student advocacy.
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role → oversee → advocacy
While the effects of supervision, and recent legislation, are difficult to measure in this election, the numbers are notable: Fewer candidates are running provincewide, compared with the previous two election cycles.
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candidates → measure → cycles
“Trustees have been turned into a complaints department, with no powers to fix any problem ,” says Myer Siemiatycki, professor emeritus of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University.
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Siemiatycki → turn → University
“We are in totally new ground,” he says, in these elections.
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he → say → elections
Outside Father Serra school, a mother tells the Star these are indeed unusual elections, but it won’t discourage her from voting.
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it → tell → her
“If you have the right person in place they can actually do a lot,” she says.
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she → have → lot
“I think it makes this election that much more important to go out and make sure you’re picking someone who has an active voice in the community.”
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who → think → community
De Domenico, who served two terms and was chair of the Toronto Catholic District School Board when the province stepped in, says he can still help parents navigate the system.
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parents → serve → system
(While trustees at Catholic boards under supervision retain authority on denominational matters, they otherwise have no powers and cannot deal directly with staff, who now report to the supervisor.)
“
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who → retain → supervisor
I get calls every day still ....
asserted
I → get → calls
I advise parents as best I can because I know how the system works. ...
asserted
system → advise → parents
What we’re seeing is we don’t have a parent voice.
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we → see → voice
The parents can’t advocate for their kids other than to phone a number.”
His sole challenger for TCDSB Ward 2, Sara Concordia, says even with reduced powers, parents need a strong voice, especially when it comes to protecting Catholic education and holding the board accountable.
asserted
board → advocate → education
“We will have limited authority, but we still should be representing our communities,” she says, noting her priorities include adequate resources and textbooks for classrooms, along with air conditioning in schools, both of which she fought for while on parent council at her daughter’s school.
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she → have → school
Tasha Kheiriddin, who is running in Ward 7 of the Toronto District School Board, says key issues for voters include class size, school safety, technology use and a “frustration that they feel that their voices are not in the conversation.”
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voices → run → conversation
Among the common refrains she’s heard on the doorstep are: “I didn’t know I could vote for trustees.
uncertain
I → hear → trustees
I thought the province got rid of them.”
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province → think → them
Others are more pointed, saying: “What are you actually going to do, because the trustees are not sitting?”
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trustees → say → What
To that, she typically responds that yes, powers have been curtailed, but when supervision lifts she wants to be “one of the people there to make positive change.”
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she → respond → change
, the province took control of eight school boards, citing concerns that included growing deficits, depleting reserves and financial mismanagement.
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that → take → reserves
All remain under supervision: Thames Valley, Toronto’s public and Catholic boards, Ottawa-Carleton, Peel’s public and Catholic boards, Near North and York Catholic.
asserted
All → remain → supervision
Education Minister Paul Calandra has warned it could take years before trustees in those boards regain their governance roles, saying he’ll hand back power once he’s confident the individual boards are being well-run.
uncertain
boards → warn → power
It’s not only supervision that is changing the voting landscape, but also new legislation.
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that → ’ → landscape
Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, became law in November 2025, giving the province expanded powers to investigate and take over boards facing financial or governance issues.
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Bill → become → issues
It also requires boards to reinstate the controversial school resource officer program if the local police service offers it.
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service → require → it
Months later, Bill 101, the Putting Student Achievement First Act, went further.
asserted
Bill → go → Achievement
Reforms included capping the number of trustees at Ontario boards at 12 — a move only affecting the TDSB, which previously had 22 wards — and cutting their annual honorarium to a maximum of $10,000, down from roughly $25,000 at the TDSB.
asserted
which → include → TDSB
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
