The Sudbury Catholic District School Board elected its new chair and vice-chair at the inaugural meeting of the Board held at the Catholic Education Centre on December 2, 2008.

Jody Cameron, former Chair of the Board from 2001 to 2002 and Vice-Chair of the Board from 2002 to 2003 and for the latter part of 2008 will once again assume the position of Chair. “In my first term as Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board I was involved in a very quick learning curve,” stated Cameron. “As a Board we were faced with a number of challenging issues which we overcame quite admirably; the creation of a new Catholic Secondary School in Valley East, increased enrolment at Marymount Academy, the introduction of the One to One Laptop program, and the appointment of a new Director of Education, to mention only a few.” Cameron also noted that the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is in a very positive position given the fact that it has recently signed contract agreements with all four of the Board’s unions and that the Board continues to enjoy a balanced budget. “As educational leaders we share a deep commitment to improvement and will continue to pursue the many initiatives that are presently underway in our schools to enhance the school environment,” concluded Cameron.

Barry MacDonald will assume the role as Vice-Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. He was first elected as Trustee for the Board in December 2003 and has also served as Vice-Chair on a previous occasion for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board from 2004 to 2006. Mr. MacDonald is looking forward to his new position. “I would like to thank the members of the Board for placing their confidence in me in my position as Vice-Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board,” stated MacDonald. “Having been a Trustee for the Board since 2003 and also having served previously as Vice-Chair, I appreciate the fact that this Board never ceases in its attempt to create a better learning environment to improve student achievement,” noted MacDonald. “I look forward to working closely with our newly elected Chair, Jody Cameron, my fellow Trustees and Senior Administration to accomplish this goal.”

Paula Peroni, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, has been selected by Minister of Education, Kathleen Wynne to sit on a special provincial Governance Review Committee along with five other members chosen from the educational sector.

The committee’s mandate will be to;

• Recommend ways to modernize and clarify in the Education Act the duties, powers and accountabilities of school boards, chairs, individual trustees and directors of education while reinforcing the relationship between elected officials as a group and the director of education as a sole employee accountable to the board;

• Identify and recommend effective practices in governance applicable to the education sector including: (i) Codes of conduct for trustees, enforceable at the provincial or board level; (ii) Audit committees with external members;

• Propose an appropriate long-term capacity building program for trustees;

• Recommend, after consultation with trustee associations, appropriate content and format of eventual provincial interest regulations designed to ensure that a board achieves student outcomes specified in the regulation, such as improved literacy and numeracy and graduation rates.

The Governance Review Committee will be co-chaired by Rick Johnson and Madeleine Chevalier. Rick Johnson is president of the Canadian School Boards’ Association, past president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) and Chair of the Trillium-Lakelands District School Board. Madeleine Chevalier is a trustee and past chair of the Conseil des écoles catholiques de langue française du Centre-Est and former president of the Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires francophones.

Additional members joining Peroni on the committee include Harold Brathwaite, executive director of the Retired Teachers of Ontario and former director of education of the Peel District School Board; Denis S. Chartrand, former director of education of the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario and former chair of the Council of Directors of Education (CODE); Penny Milton, CEO of the Canadian Education Association, former chair of the Toronto Board of Education, former executive director of OPSBA and former Ontario Deputy Minister.

In moving forward with its mandate, the Governance Review Committee will seek input from provincial stakeholders and engage with trustees and directors of education as well as focus groups of school councils and parent representatives to inform its recommendations expected by the end of the winter of 2009.

The Ministry’s intention is to seek legislative amendments to the Education Act as a result of Media Releasethis governance review during the spring of 2009 and file provincial interest regulations on student outcomes, literacy, numeracy and graduation rates during the summer of 2009.

Mrs. Peroni in addition to her role as Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is also president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association (OCSTA) and vice-president of the Canadian Catholic School Trustees’ Association (CCSTA) and is well qualified to sit on this panel. “With respect to its Energizing Ontario Education initiative last winter, the Ministry of Education recognized that school board leadership needed ongoing development to improve the ability of board leaders to act together to implement core priorities,” stated Peroni. “Ten years after substantial changes to school board governance, it is time to clarify and modernize the role of trustees to ensure that they have the supports they need to make sound decisions essential to student success. I commend Minister Wynne for having the foresight to create the Governance Review Committee and I consider it to be both and honour and a privilege to be asked to join such a talented and well renowned group whose sole interest is in supporting trustees and advocating student success,” concluded Peroni.