(Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra) has been hinting at changes to the system for quite some time, with the province putting multiple boards under supervision in recent months.

Last fall, a new Ontario law gave the education minister more latitude to take over school boards. It arrived after high-profile cases of misspending, including one board’s approval of a $40,000 administrator retreat to Toronto and another’s $100,000-plus art-buying trip to Italy.

Other boards have come under his fire for their financial decision-making.

Critics have decried the minister’s actions as politically driven, saying most boards are struggling financially due to chronic provincial underfunding.