With the nomination period for the municipal election closing in just over a month on August 21, only one local candidate has registered to run as a school board trustee in the City of Peterborough — a stark contrast to the 29 candidates who have registered so far to run for mayor or councillor.
Public and separate English and French school boards in Ontario are governed by a board of trustees consisting of members elected by residents in the municipalities the school board serves. Each board also includes two student trustees.
While City of Peterborough residents can vote for six trustees across four school boards, only one local candidate has registered as of July 14 as a English public school board trustee.
In the Kawarthas region, the English public school boards are the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB) and Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB), the English separate school board is Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board (PVNCCDSB), the French public school board is Conseil Scolaire Viamonde (CSV), and the French separate school board is Conseil Scolaire Catholique MonAvenir (CSCMA).
KPRDSB consists of 10 elected trustees, including three from the municipality of Clarington, two from the City of Peterborough, two from Peterborough County, and three from Northumberland County, as well as one trustee appointed by Alderville First Nation, Curve Lake First Nation, and Hiawatha First Nation.
TLDSB consists of nine trustees, including one from Bracebridge, one from the Huntsville area, one from the Gravenhurst area, five from Kawartha Lakes, and one from Haliburton County.
PVNCCDSB consists of seven trustees, including two from Clarington, two from the City of Peterborough, one from Peterborough County, one from Kawartha Lakes, and one from Northumberland County.
Both CSV and CSCMA have 12 trustees, with each having one trustee who represents the Kawarthas region.
The current school board trustees representing the City of Peterborough are Rose Kitney and Steve Russell on KPRDSB, Mike Ayotte and Loretta Durst on PVNCCDSB, Kristine Dandavino on CSV, and Marcellin Kwilumondo on CSCMA. Dandavino and Kwilumondo, who are both based in Oshawa, are running for another term.
As of July 14, the only registered school board trustee candidate in the City of Peterborough is Corey Scott for KPRDSB.
The situation is slightly better in the City of Kawarthas Lakes. For TLDSB, incumbent Tim McAlpine is registered for Wards 2 and 3, incumbent Colleen Wilcox is registered for Ward 7, and Ashley Ferreira is registered for Wards 6 and 8. No candidates are registered for TLDSB Ward 1 and 4 or for TLDSB Ward 5.
For PVNCCDSB, only Mary Winn has registered as a candidate.
School boards receive their power and direction from Ontario’s Education Act and are accountable to the provincial government. A primary responsibility of trustees is to advocate for public education in the community and with the province.
The Ontario Education Services Corporation (OESC) describes the role of trustees to collectively set the vision for the school board, develop policies, allocate resources, and set the goals for programs and operations. Some other core responsibilities of trustees include approving the annual budget, overseeing the implementation of Ministry of Education policies, and representing and advocating for their constituents.
School boards receive the vast majority of their funding via the Core Education Funding model administered by the province. Each board is provided a funding package based on the average daily enrolment of students of the board.
Funding is provided for activities associated with the core education funding pillars, including classroom staffing, learning resources, special education, school facilities, student transport, and school board administration.
Since the creation of public school boards in 1816, trustees have been an elected position. Today, school boards may also appoint trustees to represent marginalized communities.
The election process is designed to enable trustees to be able to effectively meet their responsibilities to advocate for the community’s public education and to liaise between the community, schools, and the province.
Recent changes made by the provincial government could be dissuading some people from running as school board trustees.
Last August, education minister Paul Calandra said he would consider eliminating trustees from boards and the election ballot if it allowed the province to “deliver the product better.”
This came shortly after Calandra introduced Bill 33, which gave the minister the authority to replace a board with an appointed supervisor in cases of “public interest,” such as financial mismanagement and divisive student issues.
MPP Chandra Pasma, who is the education critic for the official opposition, has criticized Bill 33 as an attempt to “take over” the public school system.
To date, eight school boards have been placed under provincial supervision: the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, Thames Valley District School Board, Near North District School Board, Peel District School Board, and York Catholic District School Board.
Calandra’s subsequent Bill 101, Putting Student Achievement First Act (2026), which passed the legislature in May, places further restrictions on trustee’s powers but did not include the elimination of school board trustees.
