By: Paul Hertel
When the Windsor school board voted last week to run a deficit rather than make any more cuts, it is doubtful that they were aware that March 7th was St. Drausius' Day. The patron saint of champions must have been impressed.
Following weeks of public discussion, a contentious finance committee meeting, and a boisterous public rally, the full Greater Essex County District School Board passed the following motion:
"That the Greater Essex County District School Board commit itself, in principle, to refusing to make any further reductions in spending regardless of provincial funding."
"That the Board's position be communicated immediately to the Minister of Education and all other school boards in Ontario."
This motion, which championed the cause of public education for the local board, is poised to become the basis for a province-wide reconsideration of the flawed funding formula which reduces educational services to elementary and secondary school students, and forces boards to cut or eliminate programs and employees.
But what were the origins of this motion now receiving media scrutiny?
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One trustee later lamented that they should have drawn the line in the sand before they decided to close W.D. Lowe, a local high school |
ORIGINS LAST SUMMER
As early as last summer, the local board established a special ad hoc committee to examine funding issues, and trustee Jim Cooke reached out to the community for public representation from business and labour. After several meetings, the committee ground to a halt because the board was simultaneously taking actions to close schools, and cut employee positions and programs. Windsor & District Labour Council President Gary Parent was extremely concerned about this trend. With the board's much opposed decision to close a public secondary high school, W.D. Lowe, by September 2000, community relations appeared to be at a dead end.
As Trustee Mike Allen later lamented at the March 7 rally, "we should have drawn the line in the sand before we closed Lowe".
THE FEBRUARY RESOLUTION
Trustee Cooke introduced a "notice of motion" at the regular board meeting of February 1. This breathed new interest into the underfunding concerns of the public board, with income shortfalls of $10 to $14 million dollars being discussed. Simultaneous with this motion was the strong strike vote taken by OSSTF District 9 support staff, and impending labour relations unrest. The teachers' bargaining unit was beginning to start negotiations as well, with its contract due for renewal by August 31. The storm clouds of a new budget year were beginning to form.
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There was not one letter to the editor opposing the trustee action. Not one letter supported the status quo |
February 15th marked the ad hoc funding committee's adoption of the resolution after a very lengthy, emotion-filled debate. All that was left was for the committee minutes to be sent to the full board meeting for ratification.
But first came the screaming headlines in the local press: "Board Defiant as Debt Mounts". The debate was set by a local columnist, who wrote: "All the world's a stage. But please. Spare us these fraudulent acts of defiance". Subsequent stories outlined Education Minister Janet Ecker's discipline to the naughty school board trustees. Toronto media followed suit, asking the question: what will other school boards do?
In my review of the media between February 15 and March 7, there was not one letter to the editor opposing the trustee action. Not one letter supported the status quo. This seemed to be an indication that the broader Windsor-Essex community was either supportive or quietly thinking about the board committee action. People were asking: Why is one of the richest assessment bases of Ontario now one of the most underfunded regions of the province?
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"Your trustees are doing the right thing for students. They are not breaking the law." - NDP Leader Howard Hampton |
On March 7, the day of the full board vote, 400 people attended a rally outside the board offices. The balmy 24-degree weather boosted spirits as politicians, union members, concerned citizens, representatives from parent councils, students, and employees showed their support for the committee's resolution. Howard Hampton NDP Leader, and Education Critic Rosario Marchese both stood on the stage, with Hampton delivering an emotional speech of support for public education in Windsor-Essex. "Your trustees are doing the right thing for students", he said. "They are not breaking the law".
Once inside the meeting, the full board voted 6-3 in favour of adopting the committee report and the controversial motion. The audience reacted with enthusiasm.
OBSERVING THE STORY AS IT UNFOLDS - REFLECTIONS
Will the "Windsor Factor" have an impact on the future of education funding and finances in Ontario? Will it encourage the government to reconsider its criteria? Will other boards respond? Will the public find new energy to challenge the Harris government? Will community leaders generate further civil disobedience? The list of questions grows.
From this observer's position, this story has life, and will generate intensive debate in the next session of the provincial legislature. It will have an impact on the attitudes of all educational workers in Ontario as they set about the business of defending publicly funded education, and their own security in collective agreements.
In Windsor last Tuesday, common sense prevailed. It was a historic Shrove Tuesday, and a grand Mardi Gras. All the puczkis in the world couldn't wipe the smile of approval from the face of St. Drausius, the patron saint of champions.
Paul Hertel is the current chair of the Schools & Education Committee of the Windsor & District Labour Council.
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