WRDSB Actively Suppresses Parent Input
Our unscientific poll may very well be the most extensive public consultation on school naming that the Board has done in recent years.
This week we described the WRDSB’s performative solicitation of public feedback with respect to naming a new school.
In addition to erasing Sir John A. Macdonald and A.R. Kaufman from WRDSB schools in the name of harm reduction, in 2021 the Board also changed the policy for naming new schools. Whereas previously names of individuals (e.g. historical figures) could grace the names of our region’s schools, that is no longer permitted. To protect children from Canadian history, the new policy will ensure that our nation’s founding prime minister can’t hurt you no more.
This Friday, the WRDSB posted on X asking for public input to name their newest elementary school. We responded with a poll that included both Macdonald and Kaufman as options. We also included a helpful link to an Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy Youtube video discussing Greg Piasetzki’s book chapter titled “Sir John A. Macdonald saved more indigenous lives than any other prime minister.”
However, this was shortly thereafter hidden by the WRDSB using the “hide replies” feature in X.
We ask you, is this what public consultation looks like? Why would the WRDSB want to suppress public input? Especially when it contains links to scholarly (and well-received among historians) information from a best-selling book, The 1867 Project: Why Canada Should Be Cherished–Not Cancelled.
We admit that our poll is far from scientific. However, it is very possible that it represents the most transparent and extensive feedback the WRDSB has received, much less asked for, regarding public opinion on school naming.
The poll will close very soon, so you may not have time to respond on X. However, we encourage you to include your suggestions in the replies to the WRDSB post. If they hide any, please let us know and we will follow up.
In the meantime, we will reproduce for you here the original poll. What will it be, Sir John A, or will Schooly McSchoolface come from behind?