Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) trustees have been locked out of their emails after the province took over the board at the end of June. The Ministry of Education has appointed supervisor Robert Plamondon to oversee the OCDSB, Ottawa’s largest school board. The province says the move is aimed at correcting ongoing financial mismanagement after the board posted four consecutive deficit budgets. But critics are questioning the timing. “The OCDSB actually balanced their budget in this last round, so the fact that now they’re moving in with a conservative insider who really has absolutely no background in education, to take over a duly elected board, just really makes no sense,” said Ottawa Centre NDP MPP Catherine McKenney. Trustees had approved an $18 million plan to balance the 2025-26 budget, including the elimination of 135 positions along with spending reductions of $4.98 million for special education, $5.97 million in administration spending and $4.22 million in reductions on instruction. Staff also told trustees the board was exploring long-term savings by selling vacant buildings and possibly cutting some adult high school and special education programs to find savings. The long-term savings plan presented by trustees included looking at a divestment of properties, including McGregor Easson Public School. Now, with trustees locked out of their email accounts, they’ve lost communication with hundreds of families and it’s unclear when the province will reinstate the OCDSB board of trustees. “We have been left in the dark, parents have been left in the dark, trustees have now been locked out of the system, and we don’t know what the process is,” said McKenney. Trustee Donna Blackburn declined a request for an interview, but said in a statement: “I look forward to meeting with the supervisor, if he wishes to meet with me and assist in anyway he deems appropriate.” According to the ministry, the supervisor now has full authority over the board’s governance including budgets, policies and operations. “When a school board in Ontario is placed under ministry supervision, the supervision takes over the governance and decision-making functions of the board,” said press secretary Emma Testani, in a statement to CTV Ottawa. If parents have concerns, they can reach out to the school board directly at enquiries@ocdsb.ca
