More upheaval at Thames Valley board as acting associate director demoted

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The fallout continues for senior administrators at the Thames Valley District school board with an acting associate director demoted and promises more staff changes are on the horizon following an August travel scandal, according to an email sent to board staff Thursday.

Acting associate director Andrew Canham has vacated his position as part of a structural rejig of senior administration in the wake of a three-day Toronto retreat for senior administrators that cost more than $38,000 while the board is running a $7.6-million deficit. Canham is returning to his previous position as superintendent.

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The Free Press uncovered details last month of the retreat by 18 board administrators at the Toronto Blue Jays stadium hotel. A majority of the senior board staff travelled to and from Toronto in Via’s business class. They stayed at the Marriott City Centre Hotel, formerly the SkyDome Hotel, where rooms range from $374 to $1,199 a night, hotel staff say. The retreat was held from Aug. 19 to Aug. 21 when the Jays had home games.

Canham’s decision to step down means the top three administrators at the Thames Valley board at the start of the 2024-25 school year are no longer there. The board announced education director Mark Fisher was taking a paid leave of absence on Sept. 9 while associate director Linda Nicholls went on a paid leave of absence this week.

In a memo to staff obtained by The London Free Press, Canham said he decided to “step aside” as acting associate director because the board is “undergoing structural changes aimed at increasing public confidence.

‘In light of these developments,” he said he has chosen to return to his former job as superintendent of student achievement.

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“It has become clear to me that my passion and strengths are better aligned at this time with the work I enjoyed as superintendent,” the memo read.

Earlier this week acting education director Bill Tucker announced the board’s communications director Cheryl Weedmark and Katie Osborne, the board’s superintendent of human resources, have left.

In the email Thursday, Tucker said there will be more staffing changes coming.

“My goal is to work with trustees and the senior team to increase trust and transparency,” he wrote. “I will be sharing more information on our updated organizational structure at that time.”

Tucker said Canham is being replaced as acting associate director by Karen Wilkinson, a longtime superintendent with the board.

It’s been a tumultuous year for the executive ranks of the Thames Valley board, Ontario’s fourth-largest. Two senior administrators left for jobs with other Southwestern Ontario boards before the school year began.

Riley Culhane, who Canham replaced and the board’s former second-in-command, moved to the Seaforth-based Avon Maitland District school board in a new role as superintendent. Tracy Langelaan was a Thames Valley superintendent who left for a similar position at the London District Catholic school board.

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Tucker, a former education director with the board, has returned to the helm on an interim basis. He said in an interview this week he and Beth Mai, chair of the board of trustees, are working toward restoring public faith in the board and “getting money back into schools.”

The board’s $7.6-million budget shortfall was already slashed by $11 million earlier this year through cuts that included 58 elementary school and 24 high school teaching positions, along with 17 early childhood educator jobs and four positions in speech and psychological services.

The board also slashed by half the money for student field trips, now down to $500,000 annually.

Following the revelations of the board’s Toronto retreat, Education Minister Jill Dunlop announced on Sept. 14 the provincial government will conduct an audit of the board.

The Ministry of Education’s sweeping probe is diving into its financial operations, as well as the executives’ compensation and their administration of the board, Education Ministry spokesperson Edyta McKay said

“A management audit of the school board’s financial operations . . . is currently underway, and we will let that process take its course,” she said in an email.

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One expert has said she thinks the board may be placed under ongoing supervision by Queen’s Park after the operational audit.

“My prediction is, after the ministry dives into the salaries . . . I think the board will be put under supervision,” Debbie Kasman, a former principal and executive superintendent, said last month.

If put under a supervision order, Kasman said the board – with an annual budget of roughly $1.2 billion and 184 schools– would be stripped of all power and a supervisor will be assigned to oversee financial decisions.

HRivers@postmedia.com

@HeatheratLFP

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