The Ministry of Education is moving to a co-management model in the next phase in the supervision of the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board.
Liz Sandals, Minister of Education, announced the transition Friday, saying it was recommended by outgoing supervisor Norbert Hartmann.
Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board chairperson Barb Holland and trustee Bernie Mastromattei at a news conference, May 23, 2013, in Windsor. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)
Hartmann had been appointed to oversee the financial management and administration of the board last year after an investigation found it was in violation of the Ontario Education Act due to budget problems.
Hartmann balanced the board’s budget in June.
“The ministry has recognized the ongoing progress we have made this past year,” said Barbara Holland, chairwoman of the board of trustees. “It’s very good news.”
Holland said it was a “real team effort to ensure the board’s vitality and future.”
She said the co-management model will bring herself and vice-chairwoman Mary DiMenna into the decision-making process with the newly appointed board supervisor Janine Griffore.
“We’re still working through what that process is going to look like,” Holland said.
Ministry spokeswoman Lauren Ramey said under Hartmann, the trustees did not exercise any control over the administration of the board’s finances.
Griffore is the former director of Conseil Scolaire de District des Ecoles Catholique de Sud-Ouest and is the assistant deputy minister of the French Language, Aboriginal, and Research Division in the Ministry of Education. She will be responsible for rebuilding public confidence in the board, Ramey said.
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