Board in tumult. Lawyer appointed one year ago to end infighting
Brenda Branswell
Montreal Gazette
It’s been nearly a year since the Quebec government appointed lawyer Tommaso Nanci to help solve the political infighting at the English Montreal School Board.
The Education Department says it hasn’t received Nanci’s report yet, but promised “total transparency” when asked if it will be made public.
“We will act in complete and total transparency,” said Tamara Davis, a spokesperson for Education Minister Michelle Courchesne. “It is an important file for us.”
The Quebec English School Boards Association, which represents nine school boards in the province, including the EMSB, wants the report made public, partly because of the media attention devoted to the issue but also for accountability reasons.
“We believe it should be made public,” said Debbie Horrocks, the association’s president.
“We operate with public funds. We are accountable to the public. We should be open and transparent in everything that we do. I don’t see why this should be anything other than that.”
Michael Cohen, an EMSB official, said the board’s chairperson, Angela Mancini, “has no indication at the present time, if or when, there is any report forthcoming.”
In a rare move, the Education Department appointed Nanci as an observer to the politically troubled school board last winter.
The government initially said his term was supposed to wrap up at the end of April, but it was extended. In December, the Education Department said Nanci’s report was expected in the new year.
Nanci’s mandate from the government noted that since the school board was created in 1998, it has had divisions among its Council of Commissioners, where tensions sometimes get very heated.
The Council is made up of 23 elected commissioners and two parent commissioners; its role is to set policies and oversee operations at the publicly funded school board, which has a $221-million budget for 2009-10.
The commissioners don’t belong to a party system but typically align themselves into factions that have often locked horns during meetings, which can be long and testy
Nanci met individually with the board’s commissioners last year.
The board’s central parents committee wants to be informed of Nanci’s findings, said Colleen Landrigan. the committee’s vice-chairperson.
Parents want the Council’s meetings to be a bit more productive, she added.
“We want to see the meetings talk more about what really matters, and that’s the students and the programs and the education of our kids.”
bbranswell@thegazette.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
Glad everything worked out for you and your child NF.
Erdelyi was a strange bird even as a teacher. Don’t expect too much help from Paola Miniaci, the Regional Director for Region 3. She used to be Erdelyi’s principal at Marymount. Administrators tend to think that they’re untouchable — not so. Ginette Sauvé-Frankel is your commissioner, a good egg but not the type who will rock the boat. You should go straight to Michelle Courchesne on this one.
The EMSB’s Westmount High School has an interesting idea. Suspend, suspend. If your child is late, suspend them. Send them home. I wish they were doing this back in the day of my High School years.
My Daughter is in grade 7 and has been picked on by Mr. Steven Erderly since the time that I fought to have her placed there. He is rude, does not have the etiquette of an administrator and should look for a job that keeps him away from the public.
I do not think sending a child home for simply “Not making eye contact” with the Homeroom Teacher warrants a suspension. This is counter intuitive to the student and sends mixed messages.
As a Parent, I am disgusted with the goings on in this particular School and nobody wants to address this with me.
They are out of line. They are out of control.
Today, the 6th of May I met with Regional 3 Director Paula Miniachi along with the Principal (M. Crisitofaro) and V.P. (J. Genovezos) of Westmount High and it appears that we have found a solution to my complaints and concerns.
Although it took longer than I had hoped, everything was addressed and due to a bit of confusion and manipulation it now appears that we are on the same page.
Even though I feel that the punishment methods are more strict than I would hope, it appears that my impression of V.P. Steven Erderlyi (although not perfect) was changed this morning. I guess he is trying like all of us to mold into what appears to be a genuinely concerned Administrator and I give him credit for what he has to deal with on a daily basis.
I am a single Dad with 1 child and was taking things very personal.
I am hopeful not to be visiting the School for anything other than events and Grads.
I remain,
NF
There was a time when the EMSB considered mere mention of the words “transparency and accountability” as a declaration of war! Now they are not only appropriating those words, but implementing some of the symbols – webcasting public meetings, for example. Now at least, we get to see just how bad things really are!
And we’ll see if Bill 88 can turn the screws on this “nest of nepotism”.
Nothing is going to happen. Nanci will say things are getting better, the minister will say “oui oui tout va bien”, case closed. That’s it folks.
Ms Tamara Davis says that the EMSB is an important file for MELS, if it’s that important why doesn’t MELS step in and clean up the place? Why did MELS spend all that money with Nanci when it already knows what’s going on in that joint?
Accountability, transparency — are these the new buzzzzzzzzzzzz words for school boards and the QESBA, the $900,000 per year association which basically does nothing except hold an annual bash for its members with our money?
Talking about our money, how much do you think the LBPSB dished out to the Montreal Gazette last week-end? It must have cost a bundle. That marketing campaign made the LBPSB sound like a nirvana paradise. We’re not that stupid, we know the public system stinks and anyone who can afford it will go private.