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Regrettably, for anyone following public education debates, the back-to-school elation quickly turns into apprehension. Chronically underfunded, our schools are failing a growing number of students.

This week was as good as any for the Ontario government to address education underfunding head on.

Instead, the Ontario premier spent his time bickering with school trustees, over bubble gum.

During a media availability on Tuesday, Premier Doug Ford claimed school boards are in shambles. He hinted at new information about alleged financial mismanagement of school boards that would shock the public, including the fact that a board employee expensed gum.

This was the latest in a series of public stabs aimed at school board officials and trustees, which have effectively dominated the conversation about public education over the past few months.

This is not what we should be focused on — not by a long shot.

For the 2025-26 school year, governance and administrative expenses — including trustee wages and related costs — are projected to account for 2.8 per cent of total school board expenses.

Every dollar counts, and no amount of public funding should ever be misused.

That said, whatever is happening with administrative expenses can neither explain nor solve the serious challenges schools are facing. 

Last year, a by the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) found that 37 per cent of school buildings in the province are in a state of disrepair — that’s more than one out of every three schools.

More than 100,000 students will spend this school year in one of nearly 5,000 container classrooms in the province.

A recent by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario sounded the alarm about the dire state of special education in the province. Children with known needs do not receive adequate supports, and many more children have their needs unrecognized because of long assessment wait times.

Once completed, special needs assessments rarely lead to additional funding. In most cases, schools simply have to spread the existing fund thinner, among more students.

As a result, this week, many parents of children with special education must choose between sending their children to a school that isn’t equipped to support them or holding them back — an unbearable decision.

Then there is the recruitment question.

Briefing notes obtained by The Canadian Press last year indicate the government is well aware that teacher recruitment is not keeping pace with retirement. The documents unambiguously state that the gap between the number of teachers needed and those available continues to grow.

Concretely, at this point, the recruitment challenge means that parents can no longer expect supply teachers to be certified. That has become a luxury in many .

There are several consequential debates we could be having as kids return to school, but they are not happening, at least not at Queen’s Park, where the conversation, if we can call it that, has focused on the alleged financial mismanagement of school boards.

The theatrical scapegoating of school board administration and trustees will do nothing for the kindergarteners I saw hopping on the bus earlier this week.

They need well-equipped schools. They need young Ontarians to be excited about joining the teaching profession. And some of them also need specialized education supports. All of which are becoming increasingly rare in Ontario.