After 22 years at the TDSB, Shelley Laskin has a message for her successors

After six terms and 22 years of public service, Shelley Laskin is stepping away from the Toronto District School Board. The board's longest-serving active trustee has decided not to run again on Oct. 26, when Ontario voters head to the polls and choose their next local leaders.

In doing so, one of Toronto's most prominent Jewish advocates at the school board level leaves during a sensitive time. The TDSB has been mired in issues surrounding antisemitism and anti-Zionism ever since Oct. 7, 2023. Last year, the board was commandeered by the provincial government, which, Laskin says, left trustees without resources and parents without elected representatives who can properly act on their concerns.

But Laskin can point to significant accomplishments, too. She's proud to have helped usher in citywide Holocaust education and her work with the TDSB's Jewish Heritage Committee, which built resources and partnered with other heritage groups on cross-cultural programming.

On today's episode of North Star, The CJN's education reporter Zenith Wolfe speaks with Laskin about public education, Jewish inclusion, local democracy and what she wants the next generation of trustees to understand. Zachary Kauffman sits in for Ellin Bessner.

Correction: We said Laskin's first term was 2014. Indeed, she has served since 2010. The CJN regrets the error.

Credits

Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner )

Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director)

Music: Bret Higgins

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