From October 18-22, the Toronto District School Board, along with our partners at the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA), will be celebrating Local Government Week.

School board trustees are the oldest form of elected representatives in Ontario. Since 1807, generations of community-minded citizens have made decisions on behalf of local, publicly-funded schools, building the foundation of our system today.

Trustees are elected by the public during municipal elections. As a Board, they work together to advocate for public education and the achievement and well-being of students and their families.

The TDSB has 22 Trustees, the largest representation in Canada, who represent the unique needs, priorities and educational requirements of their communities.

Trustees meet as a Board at least once a month during the school year, which is live-broadcasted, and attend regular standing committee meetings, to discuss and make decisions about the important work at the TDSB.

Trustees set the Board’s vision, establish policies, allocate resources and set goals that lay the foundation for driving programs and operations. They also recruit and monitor the performance of the Director of Education.

The Board also includes three Student Trustees. Each year, two Student Trustees are elected along with the TDSB Student Senate Executive and an Indigenous Student Trustee is appointed by the Toronto Indigenous Youth Council. Student Trustees attend Board meetings and represent the voice of all students at the TDSB.

To learn more about trustees and board meetings at the TDSB, please visit www.tdsb.on.ca/Boardroom and for more information and resources about Local Government Week, please visit OPSBA’s webpage for School Board Governance. Follow #LocalGovWeek on Twitter to see how the TDSB and other organizations are celebrating Local Government Week.