Education

Toronto school board candidates explain their platforms

crstaff@catholicregister.org (Catholic Register Staff) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 10:01:19 -0400

On Oct. 25, Catholic ratepayers will be electing trustees for the .

Controversial pro-life presentation goes ahead at Carleton University

ccn-ottawa@rogers.com (Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 08:47:42 -0400

OTTAWA - Undaunted by the Oct. 4 arrest of five students for attempting to set up a graphic photo display comparing abortion to genocide, the pro-life club sponsored a similar presentation Oct. 18.

, the pro-life club, brought in Jose Ruba of the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform to lay out the arguments for the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP), which features graphic pictures from various genocides alongside those of fetuses dismembered by abortion.

Toronto trustees stand on their records, react to 'unfair' smear from parents' group

sheilad@catholicregister.org (Sheila Dabu Nonato, The Catholic Register) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 10:46:53 -0400

TORONTO - It's “unfair” and “irresponsible” for a Toronto Catholic parent group to ask electors to vote for anyone but the incumbents in the Oct. 25 election for Catholic school trustees, say some of Toronto's sitting trustees running for re-election.

made the call Oct. 12 for voters to oust the trustees who sat on the board for the last four years. The board has been under provincial supervision for more than two years after their refusal to balance the board budget as provincial legislation demands and trustee spending scandals came to light.

Toronto School Board scandal questions not welcome

sheilad@catholicregister.org (Sheila Dabu Nonato, The Catholic Register) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:00:27 -0400

TORONTO - For the 50 people attending Ward 11��Ƶapp first all-candidates Catholic school trustee meeting, it should have been an opportunity to hear ouseted former trustee Angela Kennedy explain why a judge removed her from office, why trustees were forced to repay almost $30,000 after audits revealed spending irregularities and why the Toronto board is operating under provincial supervision.

But Kennedy, who was found guilty of conflict-of-interest two months ago and removed from her seat as trustee and board chair of the Toronto Catholic District School Board, sidestepped discussion about her removal and the events which contributed to it. Particularly frustrating for many in attendance, the format of the event made it easy for her to do so.

Censorship claims mar Toronto candidate meetings

sheilad@catholicregister.org (Sheila Dabu Nonato, The Catholic Register) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:26:57 -0400

TORONTO - Two Catholic education organizations are voicing criticism of election candidate meetings for school trustees that, they claim, are tightly controlled sessions that offer little opportunity for debate or direct questioning of candidates.

Penny Boyce-Chester of the attended the Oct. 6 meeting for Ward 8 at Cardinal Leger High School in Scarborough.

“This is a very censored meeting,” she charged. “The moderator decided which two questions he was going to ask from the box and his interpretation of how he was going to word these questions. That really bothered me.

A litany of Toronto trustee indiscretions

sheilad@catholicregister.org (Sheila Dabu Nonato, The Catholic Register) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:16:26 -0400

TORONTO - Two Toronto Catholic trustees have been removed from the board, another could soon follow and many others have been embroiled in a spending scandal that has engulfed the Toronto board for almost three years. Below is a timeline of the major events.

Dec. 2007: Catherine LeBlanc-Miller is acclaimed board chair and, following several media reports about trustee misspending, she asks the provincial government to examine trustee expenses.

Anyone but incumbents, Toronto voters urged

sheilad@catholicregister.org (Sheila Dabu Nonato, The Catholic Register) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:05:09 -0400

TORONTO - A newly formed group of retired principals and educators is urging Toronto Catholics to vote the current crop of trustees out of office. They want voters to cast ballots for anyone but the incumbents.

At an Oct. 12 press conference following noon Mass at St. Michael��Ƶapp Cathedral, Bob Dixon, chair of , called for a clean sweep of the scandal-plagued board.

Brother André students to attend canonization

vanessa@catholicregister.org (Vanessa Santilli-Raimondo, The Catholic Register) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:16:05 -0400

MARKHAM, Ont. - Select students and staff at in Markham, Ont., will be celebrating the canonization of their school��Ƶapp namesake in a special way — by being in the immediate audience close to the Pope at the ceremony in Rome on Oct. 17.

On Oct. 10, 18 students from the school will be flying to Italy for a week, along with a couple of staff members and family members, said principal Jim Nicoletti.

“Back in February, when the announcement was made, we were honoured to hear it as a school and we were thrilled,” he said. “We did a little research only to find out that we believe we’re the only high school that��Ƶapp named Brother André in the province.”

Upcoming trustee election offers chance to restore credibility to Catholic education

sheilad@catholicregister.org (Sheila Dabu Nonato, The Catholic Register) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:02:58 -0400

TORONTO - The head of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) is concerned about the upcoming trustee elections in the Toronto Catholic board because he says misconduct at one board can affect the credibility and reputation of all Ontario trustees.

“From a provincial perspective, Toronto Catholic board is like the flagship of the fleet,” said OECTA president James Ryan. “It��Ƶapp the largest Catholic board in Canada and having good governance in the Toronto board is prominent in the minds, not just of every Catholic teacher in Toronto, but across Ontario.”

Student abortion protesters arrested

ccn-ottawa@rogers.com (Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 08:56:55 -0400

Ottawa - Five students who attempted to put up a graphic anti-abortion display on the campus of Carleton University Oct. 4 were handcuffed and arrested by Ottawa police.

The students were detained for a short time and issued tickets for “failing to leave the premises when directed” and for “engaging in activity prohibited on the premises,” said Craig Stewart, 24, a fourth-year Carleton student who was among those arrested.

The tickets carry fines totalling $130. “We’re going to contest them,” said Stewart.