Former Peel District School Board Trustee Nakha Dakroub says if Ontarians are serious about fixing the problematic trustee model, “the solution is to professionalize school board governance.”
I was a school trustee. The role isn’t working as it should
By Nokha Dakroub Contributor
Toronto Star, Sept. 26, 2025
Nokha Dakroub is a social worker and former school board trustee.
For eight years, I served as a trustee at the Peel District School Board. In that time, I learned just how powerless trustees are when it comes to serving the families who elected us. During my time there, I successfully advocated for provincial supervision because I believed it was necessary to restore accountability.
Structural barriers in the system make trustees little more than figureheads. Worse, many use the position not to serve families but as a launching pad for higher political office, treating the school board as a stepping stone instead of a place for serious governance.
A big part of the problem lies in the Education Act itself. Trustees are explicitly prohibited from getting involved in the “day-to-day operations” of a school board. On paper, this division of labour makes sense: professional administrators manage the system, while trustees provide governance and oversight.
In practice, however, the line between governance and operations is so rigid that trustees have almost no ability to intervene when parents raise concerns. Whether the issue is systemic inequities, student safety, or access to special education, trustees are barred from taking any meaningful action. At best, they can pass motions or send letters — symbolic gestures that rarely change outcomes.
And yet, trustees are elected officials. That creates a false narrative that they hold real power to shape schools and deliver meaningful change. Parents who turn to their trustee for help expect advocacy, not excuses. When the law boxes trustees in, it erodes public trust and leaves families feeling abandoned. It also leaves trustees themselves disillusioned, aware that their title implies influence that doesn’t really exist.
Compounding this problem is chronic voter disengagement. Turnout in trustee elections is notoriously low, with many candidates winning with a tiny fraction of the electorate. Most electors don’t know who their trustee is or what the role entails. With so little scrutiny, accountability evaporates. Some trustees coast through multiple terms without being challenged, while others fall into controversy. We’ve seen many instances where trustee expenses have come under public criticism, raising questions about whether the office itself attracts the right people.
This vacuum of accountability is one reason boards across Ontario have repeatedly ended up under provincial supervision. In my experience, the province does not look forward to stepping in. It is politically costly and resource intensive.
But time and again, from Peel to York and beyond, the government has been forced to intervene because trustees either failed in their duties or lacked the authority to prevent dysfunction. In effect, Queen’s Park has become the babysitter of local school boards, not necessarily because the ministry wants control, but because the democratic mechanisms meant to ensure accountability simply aren’t working.
If we are serious about fixing this broken model, the solution is to professionalize school board governance. Instead of electing trustees into powerless positions, the province should follow the model used for hospital and police boards: appoint qualified community members with expertise in governance, finance, education, and equity.
This would eliminate the false promise of electoral power, centre the focus on student success by depoliticizing the role, ensure higher standards of accountability and provide boards with the competence and authority they need to oversee complex public institutions. Parents would still have avenues to raise concerns, but governance would be rooted in skill, not popularity contests with low voter turnout.
Professionalizing school boards doesn’t mean handing them over to government loyalists. An open, public application process, reviewed by an independent panel of experts, would ensure that trustees are chosen for expertise and commitment, not political connections.
Unless we embrace reform, trustees will remain more illusion than influence. The ministry should act now to replace the illusion of trustee power with a model that delivers real accountability and meaningful change. Parents and students deserve no less.
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POLITICS: *** School Board Trustees *** – cushy jobs needing serious changes to become effective
Former Peel District School Board Trustee Nakha Dakroub says if Ontarians are serious about fixing the problematic trustee model, “the solution is to professionalize school board governance.”
I was a school trustee. The role isn’t working as it should
By Nokha Dakroub Contributor
Toronto Star, Sept. 26, 2025
Nokha Dakroub is a social worker and former school board trustee.
For eight years, I served as a trustee at the Peel District School Board. In that time, I learned just how powerless trustees are when it comes to serving the families who elected us. During my time there, I successfully advocated for provincial supervision because I believed it was necessary to restore accountability.
Structural barriers in the system make trustees little more than figureheads. Worse, many use the position not to serve families but as a launching pad for higher political office, treating the school board as a stepping stone instead of a place for serious governance.
A big part of the problem lies in the Education Act itself. Trustees are explicitly prohibited from getting involved in the “day-to-day operations” of a school board. On paper, this division of labour makes sense: professional administrators manage the system, while trustees provide governance and oversight.
In practice, however, the line between governance and operations is so rigid that trustees have almost no ability to intervene when parents raise concerns. Whether the issue is systemic inequities, student safety, or access to special education, trustees are barred from taking any meaningful action. At best, they can pass motions or send letters — symbolic gestures that rarely change outcomes.
And yet, trustees are elected officials. That creates a false narrative that they hold real power to shape schools and deliver meaningful change. Parents who turn to their trustee for help expect advocacy, not excuses. When the law boxes trustees in, it erodes public trust and leaves families feeling abandoned. It also leaves trustees themselves disillusioned, aware that their title implies influence that doesn’t really exist.
Compounding this problem is chronic voter disengagement. Turnout in trustee elections is notoriously low, with many candidates winning with a tiny fraction of the electorate. Most electors don’t know who their trustee is or what the role entails. With so little scrutiny, accountability evaporates. Some trustees coast through multiple terms without being challenged, while others fall into controversy. We’ve seen many instances where trustee expenses have come under public criticism, raising questions about whether the office itself attracts the right people.
This vacuum of accountability is one reason boards across Ontario have repeatedly ended up under provincial supervision. In my experience, the province does not look forward to stepping in. It is politically costly and resource intensive.
But time and again, from Peel to York and beyond, the government has been forced to intervene because trustees either failed in their duties or lacked the authority to prevent dysfunction. In effect, Queen’s Park has become the babysitter of local school boards, not necessarily because the ministry wants control, but because the democratic mechanisms meant to ensure accountability simply aren’t working.
If we are serious about fixing this broken model, the solution is to professionalize school board governance. Instead of electing trustees into powerless positions, the province should follow the model used for hospital and police boards: appoint qualified community members with expertise in governance, finance, education, and equity.
This would eliminate the false promise of electoral power, centre the focus on student success by depoliticizing the role, ensure higher standards of accountability and provide boards with the competence and authority they need to oversee complex public institutions. Parents would still have avenues to raise concerns, but governance would be rooted in skill, not popularity contests with low voter turnout.
Professionalizing school boards doesn’t mean handing them over to government loyalists. An open, public application process, reviewed by an independent panel of experts, would ensure that trustees are chosen for expertise and commitment, not political connections.
Unless we embrace reform, trustees will remain more illusion than influence. The ministry should act now to replace the illusion of trustee power with a model that delivers real accountability and meaningful change. Parents and students deserve no less.
POSTS somewhat related to the above post...