The anti-racism group refused to speak at the school board meeting

After being denied a spot on the public school board meeting agenda, a Simcoe County anti-racism advocate gave her hallway speech.

Natasha Shakespeare, founder of Parents Against Racism Simcoe County (PARSC) is no stranger to the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB), having made several delegations to the board over the past three years on various topics under the themes of equity and inclusion.

This week, the group was denied council approval to make a delegation. The group attended the regular June 19 board meeting anyway, providing a deputation in the hallway as the meeting continued, within easy reach of administrators and attendees.

“We asked them to reconsider and they didn’t, so we decided to come tonight and share it here,” Shakespeare said before the meeting.

The lobby delegation asked the board to adopt fairer hiring practices, especially when it comes to hiring for the role of director of education. The group claims the hiring of current director John Dance in 2021 was done behind closed doors without a formal job posting and is an example of favoritism within the board because Dance was appointed to the role from within.

Dance previously served as a teacher, principal, superintendent and associate director of education — all on the public board.

Delegations to SCDSB must be approved by Chair, Orillia/Severn/Ramara Trustee Jodi Lloyd. After the meeting, Media Village asked Lloyd why he denied the delegation this week.

She specified that a delegation could be made in writing or in person, and the board accepted it this time as a written delegation.

“It was a decision that was made based on time and the long agenda we had for tonight. It is very common; other boards accept written delegations,” Lloyd said, adding that the written delegation has been distributed to all trustees. “It can still be heard.”

The delegation referred to the council’s capital audit completed in August 2022 by Turner Consulting Group. The 133-page report made recommendations on how the board can change existing policies and add new ones to become more inclusive, and includes anonymous comments from staff about their personal experiences working for the board. About 1,225 people participated in the consultations, which represents about 20% of the council’s employees.

“Throughout the consultations, the phrase ‘old boys’ club’ was repeatedly used to describe the leadership culture at SCDSB,” notes one of the audit findings. “Participants expressed concern that this culture creates many barriers to advancement for employees from diverse communities, backgrounds and identities, as they are not considered ‘fit’ for leadership positions.”

“Nearly all focus group participants shared their frustration with the council’s capital trip,” the document said.

When it comes to employee perceptions of SCDSB’s hiring process, when asked if they believe favoritism has a significant impact on who gets hired and who advances at SCDSB, most respondents agreed with the statement.

Broken down further, 70% of Indigenous staff, 72% of racialized staff, 69% of disabled staff, 67% of LGBTQ+ staff, 64% of white female staff and 53% of white male staff agreed with the statement.

“Employees expressed a general lack of confidence that the board’s employment practices were fair and consistent,” the document said.

To read SCDSB’s full workforce equity audit, click here.

Shakespeare’s delegation on Wednesday called on the board to take outside action and incorporate community input into hiring practices, adding that it can lead to a fairer process through transparency, accountability, community-centered decision-making and consideration of diverse applicant pools and inclusive.

Specific recommendations included that the board should implement an external recruitment process, conduct community consultation when hiring for the director role in the future and establish a diverse search committee.

“If you don’t have leadership from the top dedicated to this work, it doesn’t trickle down,” she said.

PARSC began in November 2020 as a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting racism and discrimination in Simcoe County. The non-profit organization educates, trains and advocates for individuals, groups, organizations and institutions to invest in ending racism wherever they meet.

Much of their work includes acting as advocates for families as they navigate the systems in place when an incident of racism occurs, which is done through referrals.

“We make most of our recommendations from this board,” Shakespeare said. “Given what we’ve seen this year, we think it’s very important to have leaders who are committed to dismantling oppressive systems. We just don’t see that.”

As Shakespeare made his delegation in the hallway Wednesday night, the board approved a motion in closed session to accept Dance’s resignation effective Dec. 31, 2024, when he retires.

No announcement has yet been made as to who will fill the role next.