TDSB struggles to appoint Chris Spence replacement

TDSB Director Chris Spence is seen in this undated CTV file photo.

Toronto District School Board trustees met Monday night to discuss a replacement for the board’s former director of education who resigned recently amid a plagiarism scandal.

Trustees met with the hope of appointing an acting director following Chris Spence’s abrupt resignation from the post last week.

Donna Quan, the board’s deputy director, is currently serving in the position.

After more than three hours of discussions, however, trustees were unable to appoint a new acting director.

“There was a lot of discussion,” TDSB chair Chris Bolton said of Monday night’s meeting. “We’ve asked that trustees go away and think about what the options are that are on the table.”

“The whole purpose of this exercise is to ensure stability in the Toronto District School Board, and to take a little time to deliberate in order to come up with a decision that’s thoughtful and responsive to the school system,” Bolton added.

On Thursday, Spence resigned after admitting to plagiarizing portions of an op-ed piece that appeared in the Toronto Star on Jan. 5.

Trustees are also working to assemble a seven-person recruitment committee tasked with finding a permanent replacement for the position, TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird told CP24.

In his resignation letter last week, Spence said that he was leaving the position with “great sadness.”

"I have come to this decision after a great deal of reflection, and no small amount of consultation with family, friends and colleagues,” Spence wrote. “I do so with a profoundly heavy heart.”

Allegations that Spence plagiarized portions of other works, including his 1996 PhD dissertation, have also surfaced in recent days.

Trustees are scheduled to meet again on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

With files from The Canadian Press and CP24’s Jackie Crandles.