“They took away our communication devices, but they can’t take away our voice” Cameron speaks out against sidelined trustee roles

March 26, 2026 · 0 Comments

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

For the past 15 years, Stan Cameron has been the Peel District School Board (PDSB) trustee for Caledon.

On March 5, he was officially sidelined from that role, as were many other trustees.

The Minister of Education, Paul Calandra, appointed supervisors at both the PDSB and York Catholic District School Board.

It was stated that this was due to “serious concerns about infighting and long-term financial unsustainability that risk disrupting learning and undermining student outcomes.”

“After careful review, it is clear that both Peel and York Catholic are facing serious challenges that they cannot resolve on their own,” said Calandra. “I have appointed supervisors to restore sound management, strengthen oversight and ensure every decision is focused on protecting student learning and success.”

This change follows an initial announcement from Calandra in January, in which he placed the PDSB under provincial supervision on a provisional basis.

It was stated that he would give the board 14 days to respond to the Minister’s concerns, after which the Minister would determine whether to continue with supervision.

“14 days became almost a month before he eventually put us under supervision that was not titled provisional,” says Cameron. “When it got past three weeks whatever was happening behind the scenes was clearly not going to likely be in our favour.”

Calandra had stated the provincial supervision was due to a planned “disruptive mid-year upheaval in staffing” and that the “Board has also run a deficit for five consecutive years.”

Cameron is speaking out against these statements, claiming neither is true.

He says that one of the roles as a trustee is to approve a balanced budget.

“I voted for a balanced budget each year in the 15 previous budgets,” says Cameron.

Cameron says that the Ministry has “manufactured a crisis,” while at the same time “impugning the names and reputations of the trustees of the Board.”

In the January press release, it was stated that Calandra “has halted the Board’s imminent layoff plan, which would have seen 60 classroom teachers lose their jobs.”

Cameron explains that, for PDSB, they had to balance the budget mid-year due to enrollment projection shortfalls of almost 2,300 students.

No longer having access to that amount of money, teachers who had moved from their classrooms into seconded positions in central board roles were then being sent back to their classrooms.

Long-term occasional (LTO) teachers who had been hired to take classroom places were then sent back to their LTO pool, where they could pick up short-term daily teaching assignments.

“Those LTOs would be eligible to apply for the daily positions that get posted as people report being sick or absent for whatever reason. In that flow, nobody lost their job,” says Cameron.

Following the takeover on March 9, 159 secondary teachers in Peel received a notice advising them they could be laid off come August.

These notices have also been sent to 172 elementary teachers.

Government officials say the layoff notices are a routine part of planning for the upcoming school year.

“To my knowledge,” says Cameron. “He [Calandra] has not presented a better model of serving our children, their families, the school staff and the school communities. Because in 15 years, I can only guess at the number of thousands of phone calls and meetings I’ve had with parents where I have helped them find a solution to the challenges in their children’s lives.”

Another issue Cameron worries about relates to the upcoming municipal election.

“Everybody wants to know, is there a position to compete for or not?”

Prior to his 15 years as trustee, Cameron taught as a full-time faculty member for 37 years in post-secondary education. “Serving my community is part of who I am in the education sector,” he says.

Not even knowing if there will be a position to apply for, Cameron adds that it will also depend on what the position entails if it is changed.

“I want to serve my community,” he says.

Cameron has spent 12 years as a volunteer minor hockey coach, 10 plus years as a volunteer Home James driver, four years as a volunteer In-School Mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel, more than 10 years volunteering with the Albion-Bolton Agricultural Society, and currently 13-years-plus a volunteer Resident Support Worker at Bethell Hospice in Inglewood.

Cameron says he fears the power Calandra has with Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, which significantly expands provincial authority over education and post-secondary institutions.

Bill 33 is what enables the government to appoint supervisors to school boards.

Cameron worries about what else could be done to school boards with the power this bill grants.

With appointed supervisors reporting to Calandra, Cameron adds that it does not allow for a democratic process.

“They do not report to the children, our students, their families, the community, or our school staff. That’s not democracy,” he says.

Cameron notes past examples the Minister has made of trustees who used taxpayers’ money on trips or hotels.

“Our Board never did that. Nobody on our Board went rogue like that,” he says.

“You can look at my expense account in my 15 years and not once have I ever spent a taxpayer penny on a hotel stay. Not at a convention, not at a conference,” adding that he has never even spent any taxpayer money on a meal.

“This is clearly throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

Cameron says, for him, it’s not about attending conferences; he goes in person to schools to learn about the programs and needs that need to be met within schools in his area.

For 15 years, on a page now removed by the Minister of Education, Cameron had his phone number listed next to his name as a trustee.

Not his cell number, but his personal home phone.

“I used to say to my wife when the phone would ring and I wouldn’t recognize the caller, I would say to her, somebody needs my help,” says Cameron.

He received thousands of calls over the years regarding bussing issues, bullying, and more, and if he couldn’t help solve the issue, Cameron says he would loop in those who could.

More topics Cameron assisted with on a daily basis included French Immersion questions, ESL support, Special Education designation and families’ concerns regarding unmet needs, mental health concerns, issues that arose during a student’s school day, overcrowded classrooms, parent council-related issues, and registration help.

For Cameron, he says much of his role is being a voice for the voiceless.

“As a trustee, I took that as my responsibility to help people maneuver through the second largest school board in the nation,” he adds.

Without the role of a trustee in place, Cameron says he sees the potential for numerous frustrated parents, children, staff, and communities.

“I’m adamant that if you take the trustee position out, let’s hear what your replacement is that will allow families to be well-served and helped when they call for help…when they cry for help.

“They took away our communication devices, but they can’t take away our voice.”