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York Region school board director's 10-year contract raises questions
Unheard of in Ontario education circles, J. Philip Parappally given long contract after just one year on the job.

thestar.com
Feb. 22, 2016
By Kristin Rushowy and Noor Javed

York Region’s public school board is fending off controversy after granting its rookie director an unheard-of decade-long contract - after just a year and a half on the job and amid a rocky start to his tenure.

Discontent at the province’s third-largest board - long considered the golden child in Ontario education - recently emerged after news of the 10-year deal slowly leaked out. The length of the contract is believed to be unprecedented, and has raised eyebrows in education circles across the province.

J. Philip Parappally was first appointed in May 2014 and signed a typical, four-year contract, but in a surprise move during an in-camera board meeting late last year, trustees approved the increase to 10 years. People are “upset...and you can’t keep things like this (secret),” said a board source who did not wish to be named, citing fear of retribution.

Board chair Anna DeBartolo, who was involved in his hiring, said the lengthy contract was to help bring needed “stability” and “consistency” to the board.

In the two dozen interviews the Star conducted for this story, with board insiders, staff, and some parents, many expressed concern about Parappally’s contract and a worsening climate at the board. They cited an unusually high number of senior staff leaving in a short period of time and concerns about the board’s handling of race relations and diversity issues.

“Everyone knows about the dysfunction at the TDSB - it’s just as bad here in York,” said one long-time observer, referring to the Toronto public board whose divisive director recently transferred to a research position after allegations of fostering a “culture of fear” as a number of senior staff jumped ship.

Parappally said he did not have time to meet with the Star despite several offers for a meeting over a two-week period. In response to questions about these complaints, Parappally told the Star his focus is on “improving student achievement and well-being, and I'm proud to work with a team similarly focused.”

“I meet with members of senior team, both one-on-one and collectively, on a regular basis. I value all of their input,” he said in an email response through the board’s spokesman. “If anyone has any concerns, I would always encourage them to speak with me directly so that I may address those concerns.”

Speaking about the director’s contract, DeBartolo said she was not aware of others of similar length at York in the past. DeBartolo - who first met Parappally 16 years ago when he was an administrator at her child’s school - said at least one other Ontario board has a decade-long contract in place, though she refused to identify it.

Previous York director Ken Thurston was in the position for four years, and Bill Hogarth for 16, but his contract was extended every few years.

“We are looking at a multi-year plan, and the director’s goals to achieve and (provincial goals)...You can’t do it in three years,” DeBartolo said of Parappally’s deal, which ends in 2024. “You need quite a bit of time to achieve everything that we want to achieve in our board” including student mental health and achievement initiatives.

While directors can serve for many years, their contracts are typically five years and would include an option to extend for another three to five, said Frank Kelly, who heads the Council of Ontario Directors of Education. He is not aware of another director with such a lengthy contract and called York’s “unusual.”

From a board’s point of view, however, “it consolidates a relationship with a younger (director)” especially if there are plans to restructure. And “from his point of view, the idea offered was to have an extension to take him through to retirement age,” said Kelly, speaking generally about the contract.

Parappally, who was hired when he was 45, initially got the job after a 7-5 vote among trustees, said sources familiar with the hiring, and the news shocked many who assumed the new director would be John Malloy, considered the leading candidate because of his experience as director of a large urban board in Hamilton.

Malloy is now interim director of the Toronto public board, Canada’s largest.

“The real race was between J. and John Malloy,” said former trustee Joel Hertz, who said he supported Parappally during the selection process and still does.

“He was a very good, I knew him beforehand as a principal, and he was very arts-oriented,” said Hertz, who served Vaughan-Thornhill for more than nine years, and lost the seat in the 2014 election. “And it was not a detriment that he was a person of colour.”

However, said one source, “compared to all the people up for the job, (Parappally) was the one with the least experience,” noting he served as a superintendent of a group of schools in York, but not at the higher level of associate director or even a more senior, system-wide superintendent, as have all directors across Greater Toronto - save for two, who lead very small Catholic boards that are a fraction of the size of York.

Hertz said he spoke with many people at the board, such as previous directors, who supported Parappally, but the third-party consultant brought in to facilitate the hiring, Laverne Smith & Associates, didn’t endorse him.

Hertz admitted the hiring process was contentious, and the consultant was concerned that Parappally brought notes to the interview and didn’t have “strong references.”

Laverne Smith & Associates did not respond to requests for comment.

Soon after Parappally was hired, anonymous email blasts went out to vice-principal, principals and senior staff which talked in detail about concerns with the hiring process.

In a letter dated June 18, 2014, the Ministry of Education responded to the controversy over the hiring. The Ministry acknowledged “concerns with the selection process” and said “we respect the responsibility of elected boards of trustees, acting in their capacity as the employer, to conduct recruitment processes as they determine appropriate.”

In an email to the Star, Parappally said he was “humbled” to be chosen as director. He said he couldn’t discuss specifics of his contract since it was a personnel matter.

“In accordance with the Education Act, I am qualified to hold the position of director of education in Ontario,” said Parappally, who made $195,781 in 2014, according to the provincial sunshine list.

Critics say Parappally’s style is to keep his friends close, and to cater to trustees.

“It’s a big organization, not everyone is going to be happy,” said Hertz, adding that a number of people who were unhappy “or didn’t think they could work with him have left” to the ministry or other jobs.

Hertz says he has only heard good things about Parappally since he was hired, but questioned why the trustees would give him such a long contract so soon.

“I think it was pretty premature, since he’s only been doing it for a while and I don’t think as director, he’s proved himself fantastically,” said Hertz. “But then again, it’s only been a year.”

Parappally’s background