Removal of Director of Education at Waterloo District School Board raises questions

BY PAUL JUNOR

It was in June 2021 that jeewan chanicka was appointed as Director of Education of the Waterloo Region District School Board with great hopes of revolutionizing the board. Since then, he has been involved in many positive and creative platforms to ensure that the WRDCB engage in a wide range of inclusive, culturally relevant pedagogical and instructional practices to ensure that the board become one of the best in Ontario. There was much expectation given his history with Toronto District School Board and his vast range of professional and international experiences in education.

It was a surprise to many who know janicka personally and were familiar with his work when it was announced on Thursday, December 5^th, 2024, that he would no longer be the Director and that a temporary replacement was found. “Please be advised that jeewan chanicka is no longer the Director of Education of the WRDSB. We thank him for his leadership and contributions and wish him all the best in his future endeavours. Effective today, Scott Miller will be taking on the role of Interim Director of Education.”

The CTV report mentioned that there was a response from Jeff Pelich, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Waterloo in which he revealed that he heard the news after 11:00 a.m. on December 5^th. He states, “The presidents of the different bargaining units for the WRDSB learned about five minutes before the system did that jeewan chanicka was no longer director of education in an email from the system, and that is it. We did hear from our contacts in human resources, just to let us know that it occurred, that is all we know at this point.”

There is speculation as to what led to the termination of jeewan chanicka. Pelich notes, “It was as much a surprise to us as it was to the community and to the rest of the school board. The director’s role is really one that steers the entire system and ensures consistent and strong leadership, and so when these sorts of things happen, it can be a challenge.”

Pelich is positive about Scott as the new interim director. He states, “I think that he is a calm, steady hand at the helm right now and has been in our system for quite some time, and well-respected by the system as a whole and we look forward to working with him. I wish him all the best, because I think the system has been in a crisis over the last few years, and I think it’s time to have some solid, strong leadership in that role.”

In response to the removal of Director jeewan chanicka, there have been many questions raised about the reasons why he was let go. Mike Ramsay wrote a letter and posted it on X. The letter was consigned by two other trustees: Bill Cody and Cindy Watson. The letter reads, “As moderate conservative members of the Board it is well known that we are no fans of special-interest agendas, whether from the far left, or the far right. We want to see a vigorous public school system focused on student learning and achievement, where taxpayer funds are respected, where parents are respected, and where the talents of ALL our students and staff are valued.”

“Our schools should be focused on nurturing academic and athletic achievement from our students, developing their moral character and citizenship, and preparing them for life whether in Ontario, or around the world in a complex and dynamic global economy.”

The letter concludes by calling for a regional Town Hall to obtain public input as they make the necessary decisions that should lead them to re-calibrate their Board’s goals, and they will be putting forward a motion to that effect at the first opportunity.

There is much to expect from the upcoming meeting scheduled for January 13^th while a regular board meeting is scheduled for January 27^th.