PDSB Chair Falsely Claims Province Blocked School Name Honouring Black Advocate

School Board Chair Makes False Claims Over Naming Controversy at Black Excellence Centre

In a revelation that has further strained relations between the Peel District School Board (PDSB) and the Black community it serves, Board Chair David Green made demonstrably false statements regarding the decision to drop Kola Iluyomade’s name from the newly opened Centre for Black Excellence.

Following last week’s opening ceremony, Green claimed that provincial directives prevented the board from naming the facility after Iluyomade, a respected Black advocate who was instrumental in exposing systemic anti-Black racism within the PDSB before his passing in 2021.

“We didn’t create the criteria. It had already been created by the supervisor, and all we did was pass on what was already created,” Green told The Pointer after the ceremony. “The present trustee did not create that. It’s misguided information that’s out there. We didn’t create it.”

However, documentary evidence clearly contradicts this assertion. Draft versions of the naming policy show that the clause prohibiting naming schools after “identifiable individuals” was added after provincial supervisor Bruce Rodrigues left his position in January 2023.

Minutes from an April 2023 meeting of the board’s Governance and Policy Committee confirm that it was the trustees themselves who directed this change. According to the minutes, Superintendent Donna Ford noted that “the Committee expressed a preference that schools are not named after people.”

The controversy dates back to 2022, when the PDSB committed to naming the centre after Iluyomade in recognition of his advocacy work. Director Rashmi Swarup’s 2023 report described Iluyomade as a “modern-day Superman” and stated that naming the facility after him would be “a symbol of acknowledgement” of his “transformative leadership.”

Instead of honoring this commitment, trustees voted to change the naming policy in April 2023, effectively blocking Iluyomade’s name from the building. This decision sparked significant community backlash, prompting then-Education Minister Stephen Lecce to intervene.

In a July 2023 letter to Chair Green, Lecce explicitly directed: “I expect, that as a Board of Trustees, you will, without further delay, take the needed steps to fulfill the commitment to name the Centre for Black Excellence after Kola Iluyomade.”

Despite this clear instruction, Green now claims Lecce’s letter gave trustees discretion in the matter. “The letter did not say that you need to do this,” Green maintained. “The letter said, ‘Make sure you do whatever the board decides to do. Do its due diligence.'”

Community advocate Danielle Dowdy highlighted the contradiction in Green’s positions: “If the board is claiming it’s following the province’s direction, why have they ignored Minister Lecce’s direction to name the centre after Kola? Which one is it? Are they following the province, or are they ignoring the province?”

Tim Vining, who co-founded Advocacy Peel alongside Iluyomade, described Green’s comments as “dishonest,” noting that “if you can name the plaque, you can name the building after him.”

The PDSB’s handling of the opening ceremony has further alienated key stakeholders. Many families and advocates who were instrumental in establishing the centre were not invited to the event, which received no public notice.

Trustee Kathy McDonald, who worked with Iluyomade to initiate the 2020 provincial review that exposed systemic racism within the PDSB, called the exclusion “shocking.” She noted that while the current board has opted for a commemorative plaque rather than naming the building after Iluyomade, the policy could be reversed in the future by a new board of trustees.

The controversy represents the latest chapter in the PDSB’s troubled history with addressing anti-Black racism. In 2020, provincial supervisor Bruce Rodrigues was appointed after trustees repeatedly failed to address systemic discrimination within the board.

Despite the setback, Vining affirmed that Advocacy Peel remains committed to their campaign. “We have not let this go, and we will keep fighting and doing everything at our disposal to see that his name is on that building.”