WEBVTT

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Three bills and a regulation.

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Three years.

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Who controls Ontario’s school-building estate?

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Eight boards were under supervision as of March 2026.

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As of March 31, 2024,

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the FAO estimated the replacement value of Ontario’s school buildings at 123.3

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billion dollars, with a 6.5 billion dollar repair backlog.

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That is not a sale price.

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Then the pressure.

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Real per-student provincial operating funding fell 792 dollars from its 2020-21 peak

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to 2024-25.

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For 2025-26,

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nearly two-thirds of Ontario’s 72 boards were projecting deficits or expecting to

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just break even.

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The province took control of five boards earlier in 2025,

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citing what it called financial mismanagement.

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Valve one,

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June 2023.

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Bill 98:

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the Minister can direct boards to sell,

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lease or dispose of property not needed

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for the next ten years.

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Valve two,

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December 31, 2023.

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A regulation says the Minister considers school boards,

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then the Crown in right of Ontario,

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then bodies that need the property

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for provincial priorities, in that order.

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Municipalities are not on that list,

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but certain transfers to them sit outside the process.

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Valve three,

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November 2025.

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Bill 33.

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The Minister can act when,

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in the Minister’s opinion, a board,

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member or director has done or omitted,

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or is likely to do or omit,

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something that could affect a matter of public interest,

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subject to the Act’s conditions.

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And a board’s right to apply to the Divisional Court to revoke

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a takeover order is gone.

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Revocation now rests on the Minister’s opinion.

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Valve four,

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May 7, 2026.

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Bill 101.

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In English-language district school boards,

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the director of education stays the board’s chief executive officer

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but is no longer its chief education officer.

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And the board cannot dismiss its director without the Minister’s prior written

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approval. Bill 101 also bars damages claims over takeovers

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and some property directions.

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The bar covers any remedy,

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including a remedy for misfeasance,

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bad faith or a breach of trust or fiduciary obligation.

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It does not apply to judicial review or constitutional claims.

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Separately, the Act says the Minister’s takeover order is not open to

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question or review in any proceeding or by any court.

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What the record shows so far:

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As of March 2026,

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eight boards were under supervision,

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almost 40 per cent of Ontario’s students by the Minister’s own count.

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The article explains that province-appointed supervisors now exercise the authority that previously

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rested with elected trustees,

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including decisions about school property.

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In Toronto,

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the supervisor’s calendar from July 2025 to May 2026 logged 47 entries

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with the Toronto Lands Corporation,

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against 19 with the parent advisory committee

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and 11 with the special education committee.

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The entries do not confirm attendance or decisions.

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A board spokesperson told the Trillium the supervisor sits on that corporation’s

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board and must attend its meetings.

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The Trillium also reports the province has asked supervisors to review surplus

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properties and report back.

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Ontario’s position.

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Ontario said,

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introducing Bill 101,

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that the changes would direct every dollar into classrooms.

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The article’s own limits:

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a power on the statute book needs a separate status

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and conditions check.

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An order, direction or transaction record is different evidence.

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Architecture documented.

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End use unproven.

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Those are the article’s own words.

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The article asks what the government intends to pump through the pipeline.

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Ontario families deserve transparency about what happens to public school land.

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Email your MPP.