Candidate for a Near North School Board trustee seat, Frank O'Hagan today called for the replacement of the Director of Education Jackie Young and an external audit of board staff, programs, and resources.
O'Hagan says it has become increasingly more obvious that succession planning has not been a priority for the Board or its director.
"It appears over time that they were consumed and distracted with the super school model and the ARC (Accommodation Review Committee) process and that the 'students’ first' came after personal or individual agendas and priorities of the chair, trustees, and director
"What has followed was a further deterioration of their relationships and decisions that have led to unnecessary disconnects between them, the students and the school community.
O'Hagan says the election has the potential to resolve many ongoing issues from a chairperson and trustee perspective, as voters choose a new board.
"What is clear in my mind is the status, performance, and tenure of the present director, superintendents, and senior administration. It would be very appropriate and timely to me to remove the present director and begin as soon as possible to begin looking at her contract to determine when and how the process for a new director can begin. Coinciding with the new appointment of the director and the newly elected board as soon as possible, I believe is in everyone’s best interest, O'Hagan continued.
He also blasted the present Director of Education for bringing in "Toronto solutions" for local students.
"From the outset of the director’s appointment prior to the ARC process, the seeds of the super school and program changes were planted presumptuously by bringing in Toronto solutions and experts for North Bay students, when local programs and local solutions like those from 7-12 were still being explored and implemented. By not acknowledging the leadership of those principals and others closest to the students, one presumptuous decision set off a chain of other distractions before the Arc process was able to resolve another, and unilaterally undermining what might have been, a super school was full steam ahead."
BayToday reached out to Director of Education Jackie Young but received no reply.
"With even more questions about the appointments of seven supervisory officers and appointments of new principals and vice-principals as well as the program changes, which as candidates we understand is unchanged, it would be appropriate if elected to also look at an external audit of board staff, programs, and resources."
O'Hagan says it's important to have the right people in the right places and the external audit can accomplish that.
"The time to restore the credibility and stability is now," says O'Hagan. "With many students having left for other schools, many students and families unnecessarily affected by relocations, what a tangled web has been weaved."
