TDSB’s Director of Education departs amid leadership change

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has announced a sudden leadership change, with Director of Education Clayton La Touche leaving the board effective immediately.

In a statement obtained by CityNews on Friday, TDSB Supervisor Rohit Gupta said the decision was made in consultation with Ontario’s Minister of Education, citing the need for a “fresh start” as the board looks ahead to future priorities.

“Now in my sixth month as supervisor of the board, I feel that the TDSB needs a fresh start as we look to set the TDSB up for success in the years ahead,” Gupta wrote. “With that in mind and after much consideration, I, together with the Minister of Education, have made the difficult decision to make a leadership change.”

La Touche, who joined the TDSB in February 2025, was thanked for his service and commitment to students and staff.

“I want to sincerely thank Clayton for his dedication to the students and staff of the TDSB since joining the board in February, and I wish him nothing but the best in the next steps of his career,” Gupta said.

Associate Director Stacey Zucker has been appointed Interim Director of Education. Zucker previously served in an interim role during the last school year and brings experience from both the TDSB and her tenure as Associate Director at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.

The announcement marks another significant shift for Canada’s largest school board, which has faced ongoing scrutiny and oversight under provincial supervision.

Education Minister Paul Calandra said in a statement that Gupta is guiding the TDSB to refocus on student achievement.

“I have full confidence that the supervisor, working with the interim director, will drive that focus and ensure every decision puts students first,” he wrote.

Calandra has made reforming school board governance a near-singular focus of his time as education minister, putting six boards under provincial control and suggesting he wants to largely eliminate the role of trustees.

The most recent board to be placed under supervision is the North Bay-area Near North District School Board, with Calandra calling it the “poster child” for why he brought forward a law making it easier for the province to take control of school boards.

He named himself as the supervisor of that board, on a temporary basis.

Calandra has said he will announce further changes to board governance early in the new year, with an eye on the role of trustees, but changes will not include closing or amalgamating school boards, merging the public and Catholic systems, or introducing charter schools.

Critics have said that sidelining or removing trustees takes away parental and community voices from schools.

The NDP’s education critic said this decision at the TDSB lacks transparency.

“Yet again, we see an incredibly consequential decision being made by Conservative-appointed supervisors behind closed doors,” Chandra Pasma wrote in a statement. 

“Parents have not been consulted and had no opportunity to participate in this important decision.”

Liberal parliamentary leader John Fraser said Calandra treats education “like a one-man show.”

Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report

“We now have people with no discernible background in education firing leaders with years of experience, because the minister thinks he can run Ontario’s education system from his office at Queen’s Park,” Fraser wrote.