3.3 What Is Lost When We Surrender Local Democracy

Episode Abstract: In this episode we explore why locally elected school boards matter. Although this is a podcast focused on the prairie provinces, we consider how recent actions by the Ontario government--to assert control over school boards, eliminate local voice, and move toward centralization--serve as a warning about what is lost when we surrender local democracy. Bill 33, Ontario’s Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, expands the Education Minister’s power to investigate, direct, and—in certain circumstances—take control of school boards, significantly increasing provincial oversight of their finances, governance, and operations. We consider how moves to centralize (eradicate) school boards advances neoliberal agendas of marketization and privatization and how this results in students being viewed as budget lines. We consider how the loss of local governance impacts equity and inclusion, including the implications of weakening the local governance structures that communities have used to address systemic racism and advocate for students with the greatest needs. Ultimately, this episode asks not only what we risk losing when school boards disappear, but what it would take to strengthen local democratic governance and reimagine school boards as institutions that serve the public good. Guest Bio: Sachin Maharaj, is an assistant professor of Educational Leadership, Policy and Program Evaluation, at the University of Ottawa. His research, which focuses on student phone use in schools, the work of school boards/districts, teacher unions, and the equity implications of school choice has been published in Critical Education, Education Policy Analysis Archives, Leadership and Policy in Schools, and the Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy. Professor Maharaj is also a contributor to the Toronto Star and regularly appears in media outlets like CBC, CTV, Al Jazeera, Maclean’s and TVO. His current research projects examine anti-racist school district reforms and the implementation of policies to restrict student cellphone use in schools. References/Resources: Farhadi, B., Maharaj, S., & Shah, V. (2026, April 16). What Ontarians need to know about ‘student achievement’ reforms that will run school boards like businesses. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/AAM.xn9dtmn53 Maharaj, S. (2020). From oversight to advocacy: An examination of school-board leadership. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 19(3), 431–443. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2019.1585548 Maharaj, S., Tuters, S., & Shah, V. (2022, October 20). Even school boards are now experiencing severe political polarization. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/AAM.vjspyfwt4 Maharaj, S., Tuters, S., & Shah, V. (2024). Anti-CRT attacks, school choice, and the privatization endgame. Critical Education, 15(2), 29–36. https://doi.org/10.14288/ce.v15i2.186883 Credits The show's producers are Melanie Janzen & Shannon D.M. Moore. The co-hosts are Shannon D.M. Moore & Justin Fraser. The technical producer is Devin King. The cover art is by political cartoonist, Chris Chuckry. The songs 26 Ghosts III, 16 Ghosts II, and 35 Ghosts IV by Nine Inch Nails are used through a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/.