13 months after LaGrange first threatened to fire them, CBE trustees are off the hook

Calgary Board of Educationtrustees will not lose their jobs, after all.

In an interview with CBC News, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said the CBEhas "made progress" to improve its governance and financial management while completing ministerial order directives and trustees are no longerbeing considered for termination.

"At this point in time, I do not see that there is any further cause to look at that option. That being said, I will be checking in at the six-month and at the one-year mark to ensure that these changes are long lasting and that they are moving in the right direction," LaGrange said Wednesday. "There are always options available to me."

CBE board chairMarilynDennis said this news comes with a collective sigh of relief from trustees.

"I'm very proud of my fellow trustees, proud of our admin team and all the work that we've accomplished together," she said.

• LaGrange threatens to fire CBE trustees despite no evidence of 'reckless' spending in audit

Dennis said it was a significant volume of work that was completed within the six-month timeframe provided by the minister.

"The changes that we made were intended to be long term and to position, not only this board, but future boards to support the sustainability of CBEprograms and services to students."

Directives in the ministerial order fall into several themes, including governance, finances, the CBE'scontroversial central office building, staffing and communication.

For each directive, LaGrange said the CBEtook targeted measures to improve policies and oversight.

"In one particular area they had a salary survey completed so that they can develop some long-term strategies on how to guide them forward," she said.

"They've been able to move staff that were the central office staff back to the classroom, to the front lines, where it's really going to have the most impacton students."

LaGrange said she feels the CBE "embraced the opportunity to improve."

"And to show that that they are willing tomake that long lasting cultural shift," she said.

Dennis said that while working through the directives from the ministerial order they hired a governance instructor to support them through the process something LaGrange suggests the board continues with.

"We've appreciated the support of our governance instructor, and the board has already offered an extension to their contract. We look forward to continuing the work with the governance instructor," said Dennis.

When it comes to the CBE's downtown office building, the board is still only half way through it's expensive, long-term lease agreement, but Dennis said the board is still trying to figure out a solution.

"We contracted in an outside expert to take a look at the lease and what our options might be around it. The work is ongoing in that regard," she said.

Thereseemed to be a systemic problem in the CBE for a very long time. I say that because of the fact that there were previous boards that were fired.- Education Minister Adriana LaGrange

The minister also praised the CBE'screation of a strategic approach to analyzing staffing and compensation levels to account for the needs of students, itsrevised service delivery model for psychology services, and the improvementof itscommunication and confidentiality protocol.

"Thereseemed to be a systemic problem in the CBE for a very long time. I say that because of the fact that there were previous boards that were fired and, in fact, there were no obvious changes afterwards," she said.

"Whereas the whole premise of this ministerial orderwas to ensure that the changes that are madeare long-term cultural, systemic changes that will guide them in the years moving forward.

LaGrange first stated her "big hammer" was to fire the boardin December 2019, when she ordered an independent governance and finance review to be conducted by Grant Thornton LLP.

This happened after the CBE struggled to absorb a $32-million shortfall brought on by the United Conservative Party's cuts in its provincial budget. The board said it was going to have to eliminate more than 300 teaching positions.

Review findings, released publicly in May 2020, found no evidence of reckless misspending and noted the CBE's costs were comparable to those of other metropolitan school districts in the province. It alsomade 25 recommendationscalling for more long-term planning and governance and policy tweaksas opposed to wholesale reform of the CBE.

In response, LaGrange issued a ministerial order that required the board to implement more than a dozen new procedures and to consider two additional procedures that all stemmed from the findings of the audit.

"If the CBE fails to get their house in order by November 30, I will have no choicebut to dissolve the current board of trustees," LaGrange said at the time.

In November 2020,LaGrange's office said it was pleased to see the CBE taking the necessary steps to address systemic issues facing the board.