Community calls for accountability by Waterloo Region’s public school board

More than five weeks have passed since the sudden departure of the Waterloo Region District School Board’s director of education, jeewan chanicka (who does not use capital letters when spelling his name).

It has left the community with many questions, especially as the departure was only announced in an internal memo to staff with no further explanation.

Kristina Llewellyn is a professor at the Wilson College of Leadership and Civic Engagement at McMaster University, and also an adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo.

“I do think it raises questions around the ‘why,’” she told CTV News. “Sometimes those questions are more out of curiosity and might be individual personnel matters that we might never know. And other times it might raise questions for the public about, ‘What are we going to do now’ and ‘What's the direction of leadership?’”

Llewellyn said that, while a Director of Education is one individual in a large organization, they do hold a critical role.

“As a leader of the organization, the director of education can be a visionary and can really set a tone around what path the school board will take,” she explained. “I think that certainly happened in Waterloo. And it has been known for taking on a more equity focus, and some really progressive measures, around student well-being.”

With chanicka’s departure, questions remain about the future direction of the board.

The Waterloo Region District School Board names jeewan chanicka as director of education. (Source: Waterloo Region District School Board)

Three trustees – Bill Cody, Cindy Watson and Mike Ramsay – recently posted a signed letter to social media supporting a suggestion, by Waterloo Region Record columnist Luisa D’Amato, for a town hall meeting to address the community’s many unanswered questions.

In it, they note they are “constrained from commenting on the sudden departure of our former director of education.”

The trustees go on to say: “As moderate conservative members of the board it is well known that we are not fans of special-interest agendas, whether from the far left or the far right. We want to see a vigorous public school system focused on student learning and achievement, where taxpayer funds are respected, where parents are respected, and where the talents of ALL our students and staff are valued."

The trustees said they support the idea of a regional town hall "to obtain local public input as we prepare to make the necessary decisions that should lead us to re-calibrate our board's goals."

Trustee Cindy Watson informed her colleagues at Monday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, that she will request a town hall meeting which would give the public the chance to raise questions and concerns about the board and its direction.

"That would help re-calibrate the board goals, and that the town hall meeting should be scheduled by the end of March 2025," Watson said during the meeting.

Trustees will vote on Watson's request at a future meeting.

CTV News asked Board Chair Maedith Radlein for an interview regarding the school board’s leadership change.

She responded: "The board does not discuss personnel matters. There will be no further comment."

Proposed kindergarten report

Watson did discuss another issue expected to be discussed at Monday’s meeting – a motion she put forward back in October asking that staff prepare a report on kindergarten enrolment trends over the last 10 years, as recent projections have not aligned with actual numbers.

“It's a very important subject because we get funding based on that enrollment, and if that enrollment decreases that's decreased funding, which means in the future, programs and services could be cut,” she explained.

The motion suggested the board could gather voluntary data when a parent removes their child from a WRDSB school.

Watson feels the board’s recent direction could play a role in families choosing it over other schooling options.

“We heard a lot of complaints,” she said. “[Parents] didn't like the identity politics or ideologies of the school board.”