Bruce Reain

Having been involved in public education for 50 years as a teacher, Principal, Trustee, parent, grandparent, and taxpayer I am passionate about student success, and achievement. I have spent my entire adult life servicing the well-being of all children. After moving to the area, 38 years ago, 5 of my children were educated and graduated from TLDSB schools and I currently have 2 grandchildren attending Huntsville HIgh School. I am well aware of the challenges facing the education system in today’s world and believe that experienced Trustee leadership is required to navigate the changes the current government has imposed on school boards. With proven skills and experience in negotiation, facilitation, problem-solving, fiscal management, and having been a contributing community member and resident in Port Sydney and Huntsville, I understand and have acute knowledge of the needs of the Huntsville/Lake of Bays community. My purpose as a Trustee of TLDSB is, and always has been, to support students and parents; help create a strategic plan and long term goals for the board; bring the concerns, ideas, and values of local parents and residents to the board table; and advocate for all students, parents, taxpayers and staff within my region.

Will the programs and services my child depends on still be there?
At TLDSB we continue to support student needs. The short answer to the question is yes, services and programs your child needs will still be available to your child in the upcoming school year. (source Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB ) As a finance and audit committee member and trustee I voted to approve a balanced budget of just over $290 million for the 2026–2027 school year. Because of a projected enrollment increase to 17,951 students and a strong emphasis on multi-year fiscal responsibility, the board is maintaining full operational support without implementing widespread program cancellations.
Over the past several years, school boards have faced significant financial pressures while student needs have become increasingly complex. Do you believe the provincial government is currently providing sufficient funding to meet the needs of students and schools? If not, what areas require greater investment? The short answer is, NO. However, having first hand experience as a Trustee and member of the audit and finance committees, I am satisfied with the work that Trustees and Senior Management have done to effectively manage available funding to support students, while maintaining fiscal responsibility through balanced budgets. There is no question in my mind that more funding is necessary from the Ontario government but, as I mentioned earlier, our hands are tied with regard to allocations for specific budget lines. Personally if more funding was available to us one of my priorities would be to allocate funds to offer additional supports for students with complex needs within our school system. (source ETFO Q&A part 2 - Sep 24/26)
In terms of Before and After School Child Care: TLDSB position as set out by the Ontario Government is as follows: Programs are operated through partnerships with community child
care providers. TLDSB provides the space and custodial maintenance and have agreements with third party operators to operate before and after school child care programs within the board. In Huntsville/Lake of Bays these operators include: Macaulay Treehouse and Muskoka Family Focus and Children’s Place. In short, it is the licensed program operators responsibility, not the boards, to run the program and hire qualified staff. (source https://www.tldsb.ca/child-care-options-daycare/ ) I have been informed these operators are having difficulty finding and hiring qualified staff to operate these programs.
Subsidies can be applied for through the District of Muskoka.
(source https://www.muskoka.on.ca/en/children-and-seniors/child-care-fee-subsidy.aspx
In terms of Busing: It should be noted that the Ontario Government has a standardized funding framework for school boards to follow regarding busing of students in rural areas. They set needs-based common distance criteria for home-to-school transportation funding in the province of Ontario (source https://efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca/faab/Memos/B2024/B07_EN.pdf )
Local school boards follow the regulations set out by the Government of Ontario legislation (source https://www.steo.ca/2026-transportation-updates/ ) and we have little control over the distances specified by the Ministry.
In terms of the Breakfast Programs: TLDSB will continue to support Student Nutrition Programs providing healthy breakfast in schools throughout the board. (source https://www.ontario.ca/page/student-nutrition-program )
In terms of TLDSB Homework Support Program: Many high schools within our board operate localized homework support sessions typically after school from 3:15 - 4 pm. Huntsville High School provides after school academic support Monday - Friday.

What is this job, and how do I reach the person doing it?

It should be noted, individual trustees do not have the power to make decisions on their own. They must vote as a corporate group. Trustees develop policies. Their role is, and has been, strictly governance and not operations. Not only that, current BIll 101 (source https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-44/session-1/bill-101 ) has overhauled the role of the Trustee. Restricted powers to Trustees dictated by the current government leaves decision making to the CEO of the board. Today, the provincial Ministry of Education sets the curriculum, major funding, and core provincial rules. My experience with local residents; my educational background; previous experience as a Trustee over the past 3 governments and my ability to communicate with people enables me to be effective in my role as a Trustee.
My experiences as a Trustee over the past 16 years include:
Vice- Chair and Chair person
Member of the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC); Supervised Alternative Learning (SAL); Audit; Finance; Strategic Plan; Director’s Evaluation; Planning and Development; Curriculum; Parent Involvement; and Policy Review Committees
Trained in Governance and Leadership; Operations and Finance; Relations and Communications; Mental Health; Cyber Security;
Source https://www.opsba.org/resources/professional-development/

How do I reach the person doing it?
Parents and community members have always been able to reach Trustees through parent newsletters home from their child's school; on the school board website (source https://www.tldsb.ca/trustee/ ); or simply going to the GOOGLE platform and typing in on the bar “ how do I reach my school board trustee in TLDSB” (source https://www.google.com/search?q=how+do+I+reach+my+school+board+trustee+in+TLDSB&rlz=1CAEVJI_enCA1051CA1073&oq=how+do+I+reach+my+school+board+trustee+in+TLDSB&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRiPAjIHCAUQIRiPAtIBCjE2NjQzajBqMTWoAgiwAgHxBfvFqoOE6Hqg8QX7xaqDhOh6oA&sourceid=chrome&source=chrome.rb&ie=UTF-8 ). My personal phone number is listed, my email, and the schools I represent (Huntsville/Lake of Bays).

What do you believe is the most significant challenge currently facing Ontario’s publicly funded education system, and what role should school board trustees play in addressing it? I believe that the recent changes to education through Bill101: Putting Student Achievement First Act, have negatively impacted the democratic process and school board (Trustees) governance. The Bill results in an increase in Ministerial oversight, control and changes in the roles and responsibilities of Trustees who are the publicly elected representatives. That being said, having been a Trustee for a number of years and a Principal in our system for 18 years, I have an extensive knowledge and understanding in relation to the education system in TLDSB. I am confident that our Trustee team, known province-wide to be strong and effective governance leaders, will continue to ensure the system focus remains on supporting student achievement and well-being in spite of the challenges we face with the current changes with the Ontario government. (source ETFO Q&A part 1 - Sep 24/26)
When the priorities or directives of the provincial government conflict with what you believe is best for students and the local public education system, what do you believe the role of a trustee should be? Would you be prepared to publicly advocate for changes in provincial policy or funding? Short answer, absolutely YES. I am passionate about public education and have a proven track record of over 50 years in education of supporting staff, students and parents, and advocating for changes in provincial policy and funding. Currently, the Ministry of Education has made it very clear through recent legislation changes that the role of the Trustee is to liaise between community and the board members and senior administration, to bring concerns to the board for consideration, and engage in governance responsibilities. As a Trustee I have always advocated for what is best for students and staff members and am committed to do so moving forward. (source ETFO Q&A part 4 - Sep 24/26)

Are students supported, and are the ones who need more getting it?
There is no doubt that we are not meeting all the needs of all the students in our education system; however, I believe that we are trying our best with the resources we have. Along with my fellow Trustees we have worked hard to develop policies to address student well-being and mental health as well as advocating for more funding from the provincial government to take care of the needs of our students.

I sit on the Special Education Advisory Committee and helped to develop our Special Education Plan. “Our priority is to provide the best possible learning opportunities and support for all students. We are committed to ensuring that high-quality programs and services are in place for all students with special education needs.” (source https://www.tldsb.ca/special-education/ ) One of the reasons I continue to dedicate my life to supporting student needs in Huntsville/Lake of Bays is because I feel strongly that children are worth it. Education is not only my passion, it is also a responsibility.

One of our focusses in TLDSB over the past couple of years has been mental health challenges faced by students and families in our board. As Trustees we have developed policies with regard to dedicated Health and Well-Being programs.
(source https://www.tldsb.ca/mental-health-and-well-being/ ) We approach our policy through
Mental Health and Addictions Strategy (2023–2027) and the annual Public Facing Action Plan, aligning with Ontario's PPM 169 requirements.