Some facts and fantasies concerning local autonomy in the Metropolitan Toronto school system

Abstract. The Metropolitan Toronto school system is a unique form of educational governance in North America, as a two-tiered federation. Tension has always existed between the levels over which had the prerogative LO make binding decisions on issues without involvement, consultation, or ratification by the other. Recently, the area school boards, which constitute the lower level, have increasingly raised this issue, protesting that their local autonomy is being eroded. This paper describes the operationalization of the local autonomy concept and points out that it is dynamic, being dependent upon at least four factors: the nature of the issue being discussed, the political context of the issue, the nature of the deadlines related to the issue, and the particular blend of people involved at the time of operationalization. The paper further explores the nature and sources of infringement upon the autonomy of local school boards in the Metropolitan Toronto federation. It identifies and discusses three major sources: (a) from the provincial level, (b) from the Metro level, and (c) from other area boards. The paper concludes that perhaps the greatest threat to area board autonomy in a period of financial cutbacks is the other area boards themselves who are forced into competition for financial resources due to the fact that accepted bases for agreeing upon relative inter-board needs have not been fully developed. Sommaire. L'organisation scolaire du Toronto métropolitain est unique en Amérique du Nord. Etant composée de tension entre les deux niveaux car chacun cherche à prendre des décisions exécutoires sans consultation avec l'autre ou ratification de sa part. Récemment les commissions scolaires qui constituent le palier inférieur ont soulevé cette question, en se plaignant de plus en plus de l'drosion de leur autonomie locale. L'auteur de cet esposé décrit l'application pratique du concept de l'autonomie locale et fait remarquer qu'il est dynamique, car il dépend d'au moins quatre facteurs: la nature de la question à l'étude et son contexte politique, la nature des échéances qui s'y rapporte, et la composition du groupe participant à l'exercice. L'auteur étudie aussi la nature et les sources d'ingérence dans les affaires des commissions scolaires locales de la fédération du Toronto métropolitain. Il dégage et étudie trois sources principales: (a) le niveau provincial, (b) le niveau métropolitain, (c) les autres commissions scolaires. Il conclut que la plus grande menace pour l'autonomie des commissions scolaires en période d'austérité financiére provient sans doute des autres commissions scolaires car elles sont forcées de se faire concurrence entre elles pour obtenir des ressources financiéres. Cette concurrence est accrue de fait que les critères d'évaluation des besoins sont encore imprécis et ne font pas l'objet dun accord général.     

Books reviewed Comptes rendus

Book reviewed in this article: Contradictions of the Welfare State By Claw Offe . Edited by John Keane Why Governments Grow: Measuring Public Sector Size : By Charles Lewis Taylor , ed Concepts of Federalism By William H. Stewart , Lanham: Government, Limited : By John Calvert Pathways to Self-Determination: Canadian Indians and the Canadian State : By Leroy Little Bear , Menno Boldt and J. Anthony Long . Science in Government : By Jarlath Ronayne . Citizen Participation in Library Decision-Making: the Toronto Experience : Edited by John Marshall . Ethics in the Public Service: Comparative Perspectives : Edited by Kenneth Kernaghan and O.P. Dwivedi . Pensions Today and Tomorrow: Background Studies : Edited by David W. Conklin , Jalynn H. Bennett and Thomas J. Courchene . Conflict and Compromise in Multilingual Societies, Volume 1, Switzerland : By Kenneth D. Mcrae .     

Quebec nationalism in the 1980s: a spent force?

The Independence Movement in Quebec 1945–1980. By William D. Coleman . Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 1984. Pp. xii, 274. Inder (paper) Conflict and Language Planning in Quebec. Edited by Richard Y. Bourhis . Clevedon, Avon: Multilingual Matters Ltd. 1984. Pp. xvi, 304. Index. $19.95 Problems and Opportunities in U.S.-Quebec Relations. Edited by Alfred O. Hero , Jr . and Marcel Daneau . Boulder and London: Westview Press. 1984. Pp. xv, 320. Index (cloth)     

Review Article Note bibliographique

A Review of the Working Papers on Citizen Involvement Prepared for the Committee on Government Productivity of the Ontario Government (COGP) Citizen Involvement By the STAFF OF THE COGP, 1972. Pp. 50 A Public Communications System. By LLOYD AXWORTHY, 1971. Pp. 60 Gone Today and Here Tomorrow. By CATHERINE STARRS and GAIL STEWART, 1971. Pp. 89 Public Bureaucracy and the Possibility of Citizen Involvement in the Government of Ontario. By GEORGE S. SZABLOWSKI, 1971. Pp. 37 Participation and Liberal Democratic Government. By FREDERICK C. THAYER, 1971. Pp. 41 All are available from the Queens Printer, Government of Ontario; 1.00 each     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article: One Country or Two Edited by r. m. burns. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press Federal-Provincial Diplomacy: The Making of Present Policy in Canada By richard simeon. Toronto: University of Toronto Press Schools for Ontario: Policy Making, Administration, and Finance in the 1960s By david m. Cameron. Toronto: University of Toronto Press Regional Government in Ontario Edited by trevor price. Windsor: University of Windsor Press Comparative Federalism: The Territorial Dimension of Politics By IVO d. duchacek. Toronto: Holt, Rinehart and Winston The ‘Open’ Commonwealth By M. MARGARET BALL Durham, NC: Duke University Press Planning-Programming-Budgeting: A systems Approach to Management Edited by fremont j. lyden and ernest g. mlm. Second Edition. Chicago: Markham Publishing Company The Financial System of Canada By e. P. neufeld. Toronto: Macmillan Company of Canada New Approaches to Public Decision-Making By alice m. rivlin. Special Study no. 18 prepared for the Economic Council of Canada. Ottawa: Information Canada Why Distribution is Important: An Examination of Equity and Efficiency Criteria in Benefit-Cost Analysis By Walter heWch. Special Study no. 19 prepared for the Economic Council of Canada. Ottawa: Information Canada The Assault on Privacy By arthur r. miller. Bergenfeld, NJ: Signet The Limits of Organizational Change By Herbert kaufman. University, Alabama: University of Alabama Press     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Urban Canada By JAMES and BOBERT SIMMONS. Politics and Government of Urban Canada Edited by LIONEL D. FELDMAN and MICHAEL D. GOLDBICK. The Canadian Municipal System By DONALD C. BOWAT. Politics: Canada Edited by PAUL FOX. 3rd edition. Contemporary Issues in Canadian Politics Edited by FREDERICK VAUGHAN, PATRICK KYBA and O.P. DWIVEDI. The Canadian Political Process Edited by OREST KRUHLAK, RICHARD SCHULTZ and SINEY POBIHUSHCHY. Cost-Benefit Analysis of Manpower Policies Edited by G.C. SOMEBS and W.D. WOOD. Temporal Dimensions of Development Administration Edited by DWIGHT WALDO. Durham, N.C. Policy Sciences: An International Journal Foreign Policy for Canadians Published by authority of the Honourable Mitchell Sharp, Secretary of State for External Affairs. Social Science and Social Purpose By T.S. SIMEY. The Structure of Local Government A Comparative Survey of 81 Countries By SAMUEL HUMES and EILEEN MABTIN. Changing Patterns of Local Government By A.F. LEEMANS.     

Book Reviews Comptes rendus

Book reviewed in this article: Strategic Design and Organizational Change: Pacific Rim Seaports in Transition:By Herman L. Boschken. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. 1988. Pp. xvi, 234; Index. $29.95 (cloth) Leadership, Organizations and Culture:By Peter B. Smith and Mark F. Peterson. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications. 1988. Pp. 208 When Public Sector Workers Unionize:Edited by Richard B. Freeman and Casey Ichniowski. Chicago. University of Chicago Press. 1988. Pg. 419 Spolls of Power: The Politics of Patronage:By Jeffrey Simpson. Toronto: Collins Publishers. 1988. Pp. 406. $27.95 (cloth)     

Review article Note bibliographique OD: An alternative approach to organizational change

Organization Development: Its Nature, Origin and Prospects. By WARREN G. BENNIS. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1969. Pp. 87. 3.65 Organization Development: Strategies and Models. By RICHARD BECK-HARD. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1969, Pp. 119. 3.65 Building A Dynamic Corporation Through Grid Organization Develop ment. By ROBERT G. BLAKE and JANE s. MOUTON. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1969. Pp. 120. 3.65 Developing Organizations: Diagnosis and Action. By PAUL R. LAWRENCE and JAY w. LORSCH. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1969. Pp. 101. 3.65 Process Consultation: Its Role in Organizational Development. By EDGAR H. SCHEIN. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1969. Pp. 147. 3.65 Interpersonal Peacemaking: Confrontations and Third Party Consultation. By RICHARD E. WALTON. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1969. Pp. 151. 3.65     

Urban economic development and regulation by municipal licensing

Urban Economic Development: Edited by Richard D. Bincham and John P. Blair . Beverley Hills: Sage Publications. 1984. Pp. 287. $28.00 (hardcover). $14.00 (paper) Regulation by Municipal Licensing: By John Bosson , S.M. Makuch and John Palmer . Ontario Economic Council Research Studies. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 1984. Pp. 111 (paper). $6.50     

Public administration texts: synthesizing,packaging and groping forward

Book reviewed in this article: The Craft of Public Administration. By george e. berkley . Boston & Toronto: Allyn and Bacon. 1974. Pp. 504. $16.50 (cloth) Dynamics of Public Bureaucracy: An Introduction to Public Administration. By fred a. kramer . Cambridge, Mass.: Winthrop. 1977. Pp. 290. $12.00 (paper) Public Administration: A Synthesis. By howard e. mccurdy . Manlo Park, Calif.: Cummings. 1977. Pp. 424. $12.95 (cloth) Public Bureaucracies: Values and Perspectives. By james a. medeiros and david e. schmitt . North Situate, Mass.: Duxbury. 1977. Pp. 183. $4.95 (paper)     

Manager's matter: news from the laboratory

Advancing Public Management: New Developments in Theory, Methods and Practice. Edited by jeffrey l. brudney, laurence o'toole jr. and hal g. rainey. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. 2000. Pp. xi, 304. Transforming Government: Lessons from the Reinvention Laboratories. By PATRICIA w. INGRAHAM, JAMES R. THOMPSON and RONALD SANDERS. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. 1998. Pp. xxi, 266. The Stakeholder Society. By bruce ackerman and anne alstott. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1999. Pp. xi, 296.     

Book Reviews Comptes Rendus

Book reviewed in this article: The Future of Social Democracy: Views of Leaders from around the World: Edited by Peter H. Russell The Sixteen‐Trillion‐Dollar Mistake: How the U.S. Bungled its National Priorities from the New Deal to the Present: By Bruce S. Jansson Capacity for Choice: Canada in a New North America: Edited by George Hoberg Canadian Federalism: Performance, Effectiveness and Legitimacy: Edited by Herman Bakvis and Grace Skogstad Political Leadership. New Horizons in Public Policy series: By Howard Elcock .Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing Governing London: By Ben Pimlott and Nirmala Rao Local Government at the Millennium: Edited by Janice Caulfield and Helge O. Larsen Street Protests and Fantasy Parks: Globalization, Culture and the State: Edited by David R. Cameron and Janice Gross Stein     

The Crisis of Central-local government relations: The British experience

The Case for Local Government. By G. Jones and J. Stewart eds. The Politics of Local Spending. By A. Midwinter . Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. Abolition or Reform? The GLC and the Metropolitan Counties. By N. Flynn , S. Leach and C. Vielba .     

Aboriginal self-government

Aboriginal Self-Government Arrangements in Canada. By Evelyn J. Peters , Background Paper 15, Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Queen's University: Kingston, Ontario. 1987. Pp. 66 (paper) Completing Canada: Inuit Approaches to Self-Government. Inuit Committee on National Issues . Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Queen's University: Kingston, Ontario. 1987. Pp. 44 (paper) Future Issues of Jurisdiction and Cooperation between Aboriginal and Non-aboriginal Governments. By Ian B. Cowie . Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Queen's University: Kingston, Ontario. 1987. Pp. 75 (paper)     

Books Reviewed Comptes rendus

Prairie Politics and Society: Regionalism in Decline; By ROGER GIBBINS Cultural Boundaries and the Cohesion of Canada; By RAYMOND BRETON, JEFFREY G. REITZ, VICTOR VALENTINE Women and the Constitution; Edited by AUDREY DOERR and MICHELINE CARRIER New Public Administration; By H. GEORGE FREDERICKSON. University, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press Federalism, Bureaucracy, and Public Policy: The Politics of Highway Transport Regulation; By RICHARD J. SCHULTZ . Toronto: University of Toronto Press for the Institute of Public Administration of Canada The Politics of Federalism: Ontario's Relations with the Federal Government, 1867–1942; By CHRISTOPHER ARMSTRONG . Ontario Historical Studies Series, Toronto: University of Toronto Press Organizational Effectiveness in a Multinational Bureaucracy; By HANS J. MICHELMANN Welfare, Justice, and Freedom; By SCOTT GORDON Women and the Chip: Case Studies of the Effects of Informatics on Employment in Canada; By HEATHER MENZIES Wealth and Poverty; By GEORGE GILDER     

Books reviewed Comptes rendus

Book reviewed in this article: Conflict over the Columbia: The Canadian Background to an Historic Treaty : Byneil a. swainson Constitutional Law of Canada : Bypeter w. hogg The British Philosophy of Administration : Byrosamund m. thomas A Century of Canadian Grain: Government Policy to 1951 : Byc.f. wilson Urban Housing Markets: Recent Directions in Research and Policy : Edited bylarry s. bourne andjohn r. hitchcock Issues and Alternatives 1978: Government Regulation : Toronto: By the Ontario Economic Council. Environmental Assessment Law : Byd. paul emond Comparing Public Policies: New Concepts and Methods : Ed. bydouglas e. ashford The LGMP Experience: Phase I—Assessing Readiness for Organizational Change in Local Government : Byj.r. nininger andv.n. macdonald The LGMP Experience: Phase II—The Implementation of Organizational Change in Local Government : Byv.n. macdonald andp.j. lawton The LGMP Experience: Phase III—An Overview of an Experiment in Organizational Change in Local Government : Byv.n. macdonald andp.j. lawton Formulating Government Budgets: Aspects of Australian and North American Experience : Bykenneth w. knight andkenneth w. wiltshire Perspectives on Canadian Airline Regulation : Edited byg.b. reschenthaler andb. roberts     

Books reviewed Comptes rendus

Rapport de la Commission d'enquête sur la santé et le bien-être social. Vol. IV: La SantéTome I: La situation actuelle The Role of the Economist In Government Policymaking By HUGH s. NORTON. Berkeley: McCutchan Publishing Corporation. The Abolition of Poverty By DAVID HOROWITZ. The Politics of Social Change: A Reader for the Seventies The City Manager Profession: Myths and Realities By JOHN c. BOLLENS and JOHN C. EIES. Chicago: Public Administration Service. Toward a National Urban Policy Edited by DANIEL P. MOYNIHAN. The Evolution of Indian Administration By SHRIRAM MAHESHWARI. Decision-Making By R. A. CHAPMAN. Toronto: General Publishing Co. Ltd. 1970. Bureaucracy and Innovation By VICTOR A. THOMPSON. University, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. The Theory of Organizations By DAVID SILVERMAN. London: Heinemann Educational Books.     

Globalization forces and social policy choices: Glass half‐full or half‐empty?

Globalization, Europeanization and the End of Scandinavian Social Democracy?Edited by robert geyer, christine ingebritsen and jonathon w. moses. London: Macmillan. 2000. Changing Politics of Canadian Social Policy. By james j. rice and michael j. prince. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 2000. Four Strong Winds: Understanding the Growing Challenges to Health Care. By michael b. decter Toronto: Stoddard. 2000. Now resident on Vancouver Island, the author was until recently a faculty member in the Department of political science at the University of Windsor.     

Book Reviews/Comptes rendus

Book reviewed in this article: Guide méthodologique de la recherche Par ROBERT J. GRAVEL. Political Choice in Canada By HAROLD D. CLARKE, JANE JENSON, LAWRENCE LEDUC and JON H. PAMMETT. The Conserver Solution: A Blueprint for the Conserver Society By LAWBENCE SOLOMON. Understanding Intergovernmental Relations By DEIL s. WBIGHT. Confrontation and Collaboration — Intergovernmental Relations in Canada Today Edited by RICHABD SIMEON. Local Government in Canada By C.R. TINDAL and S. NOBES TINDAL. Shaping the Canadian City: Essays on Urban Politics and Policy, 1890–1920 By JOHN C. WEAVES. Structural Changes in Local Government: Government for Urban Regions By C.R. TINDAL. The Politics of Urban Development: Canadian Urban Expressway Disputes By CHRISTOPHER LEO. Community Development: Learning And Action By HAYDEN ROBERTS. The Australian Federal System By JEAN HOLMES Innovation and Implementation in Public Organizations By RICHABD H. NELSON and DOUGLAS YATES Policy Analysis: A Political and Organisational Perspective By W.I. JENKINS. Perspectives on the Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration By P.K. GOPECKI and W.T. STANBUBY Ombudsmen Around the World: A Comparative Chart By KENT M. WEEKS.     

Books Reviewed Comptes rendus

Book reviewed in this article: Public Administration: History and Theory in Contemporary Perspective ; Edited by Joseph A. Uveces Jr . No Fault of Their Own: Unemployment and the Canadian Welfare State 1914–1941 ; By James Struthers . When Freedom is Lost: The Dark Side of the Relationship Between Government and the Fort Hope Band ; By Paul Driben and Robert S. Trudeau . Local Government: Politicians, Professionals and the Public in Local Authorities ; By Howard Elcock . City Politics in Canada ; Edited by Warren Magnusson and Andrew Sancton . Parliament and Bureaucracy, Parliamentary Scrutiny of Administration: Prospects and Problems in the 1980s ; Edited by J.R. Nethercote . The Executive Challenge ; By Michael B. Mc Caskey . The Politics of Canadian Airport Development: Lessons for Federalism ; By Elliot J. Feldman and Jerome Milch . Organisation Theory and Management ; Edited by Thomas D. Lynch . The Politics of Canadian Public Policy ; Michael M. Atkinson and Marsha A. Chandler