‘This is bigger than David Green and I’: Kathy McDonald has fought for Black and South Asian representation, now she’s leaving her ward to run against the PDSB chair
Kathy McDonald is used to people telling her that she’s fighting an uphill battle after 12 years of representing Wards 3 and 4 on the Peel District School Board, persistently advocating for better student outcomes at one of Canada’s largest public education systems.
Now, some are questioning the wisdom of her latest battle. Instead of running as an incumbent in a seat she’s held for over a decade, McDonald, never one to back away from what she feels is right, made the decision to challenge PDSB chair David Green in Wards 1 and 5.
“David Green is one of the biggest hurdles to our board making progress and having good governance structures, serving the needs of our students and our staff,” McDonald told The Pointer. “I am going to try and remove what I think is one of the biggest obstacles to progress in our board.”
Her bold decision, leaving the seat the beloved trustee could most likely easily hold onto, in an effort to remove Green, comes as the PC government has taken over supervision of the PDSB, citing infighting, mismanagement and repeated budget deficits under Green’s volatile leadership. In 2023, the Education Ministry had thought it could hand control of governance back to trustees after they were removed from their role for the first time a half-decade ago, following controversial moves by Green and some of his colleagues who were singled out by the provincial government for causing “harm” to PDSB students.
But citing a failure in leadership during Green’s time as chair, the Province felt compelled once again to take over the board in 2026, as its supervision of PDSB and control of governance now continues.
It was an embarrassment to most trustees and an indictment of their inability to fulfill their responsibilities. Prior to the decision, McDonald had refused to support the budget Green and senior administrative staff had shaped for the academic year that ended in June, citing harms to students that would be caused by the financial plan they brought forward, and glaring gaps where funding was supposed to go, while spending on new high-paid management staff was done without justification.
Months after McDonald raised her concerns, the Ministry, which also took issue with PDSB’s fiscal management, made the decision to take over for the second time, sidelining Green once again.
The Education Minister, Paul Calandra, then lashed out at Green himself in May, questioning why the chair was using a school portable meant for students, as a storage locker for his own private use for a decade, as the executive director of an organization Green runs.
Calandra called it “outrageous” and told Global News that Green had been told to vacate his things from the portable immediately.
“He’s been using a portable at one of the schools as a storage locker, basically, for at least the past 10 years. So we have politely asked him to vacate that portable and have the school board find other uses for the portable.”
Kathy McDonald calls PDSB Chair David Green one of the “biggest hurdles” facing good governance at the PDSB, which is one of the reasons why she’s running against him this year.
(Alexis Wright/The Pointer)
McDonald says Green’s blatant disregard for rules and his abuse of taxpayers, using public school property for his own private use, is a reflection of the way he has managed the board as chair.
Green did not respond to questions or an interview request.
Throughout her representation of Wards 3 and 4 on the PDSB, McDonald has been the board’s most consistent voice advocating for sound fiscal management and equitable education and treatment for all students, since she and the community led a push that triggered a provincial government review of PDSB in 2019-20.
The findings of that probe revealed what many families had witnessed for years: a public school system that fostered a culture of systemic discrimination and a lack of accountability that had also left the board’s financial management in bad shape.
McDonald repeatedly challenged Green and other trustees who refused to take steps to rehabilitate a board that former education minister Stephen Lecce singled out in an alarming public statement, ahead of the Province’s first probe of PDSB in 2019: “Schools must be safe, inclusive, and welcoming places for students, staff, and the entire community. Allegations related to equity in the Peel District School Board have raised concerns, specifically related to anti-Black racism and lack of adherence to governance, leadership, and human resources practices…Therefore, I intend to appoint reviewers to conduct an immediate review of the PDSB and, upon completion, provide a final report to me with recommendations on how the board could ensure effective board governance that promotes equity, increases accountability and transparency, and safeguards the success and well-being of students.”
McDonald was the leading voice on the board calling for a review of PDSB’s fiscal management and equity practices, after widespread evidence of dysfunction had come forward.
She led efforts to work across Peel’s diverse communities, engaging South Asian stakeholders such as her former colleague Harkirat Singh, who moved on from his PDSB trustee role to become a Brampton councillor, after both worked together to strengthen equity for visible minority students.
The former head of equity at PDSB, Poleen Grewal, who was fired under Green’s leadership and subsequently filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the PDSB, was widely respected in Peel’s diverse South Asian and Black communities for her critical equity work. McDonald worked closely with her as the two pushed for reforms to improve outcomes for Black, South Asian and other students who had been historically marginalized by the PDSB.
Green, meanwhile, led efforts to intimidate Black advocates pushing for reform.
He was part of a 2020 legal action against Black community groups that had organized on social media to force reform. When Lecce, who was the education minister, took over the board, he demanded the legal action be stopped and said instead of attacking community members the board should be working with them.
Green also tried to bring trespass notices against two Black advocates, and made false claims about their conduct at public meetings before police investigated and found that none of Green’s allegations were true. The board had to apologize to both of the Black men Green had threatened with trespass orders and the ministry said the shameful conduct was a clear example of discrimination.
Green’s behaviour was characterized as discriminatory and the board, under provincial supervision in 2020, issued a formal apology to Black community members for Green’s conduct and the actions of others inside the board who caused harm.
McDonald repeatedly called Green out for his conduct, and finally decided to challenge him at the ballot box, to remove what she calls one of the PDSB’s biggest barriers to good governance.
Before entering politics, McDonald worked as a scientist, a background she says has shaped how she approaches her role as a trustee.
“We measure things, and we use data to inform everything we do,” she said. “When we came into the PDSB, everything was not really data-informed and data-centred. I think I’ve learned the importance of ensuring that systems do collect data properly and be honest about it—letting the data tell the story.”
She also said 12 years on the board has changed how she views her colleagues’ motivations.
“I am not the naive person I was,” she said. “Where I used to believe that everyone in education truly cared about the children and had the children’s best interest at heart. I don’t believe that anymore.”
She says she now tries to identify and support trustees and staff she believes are genuinely committed to students, while limiting the influence of those she considers self-serving.
Green was re-elected PDSB board chair in November 2025. He registered to run again in Wards 1 & 5 on the first day of nominations this year, on May 1. McDonald filed for the same ward on August 21.
McDonald alleges that Green has staff members from the board attending events tied to his personal foundation and private community services organization, and raised concern over Green’s use of PDSB facilities to store materials for his private group. She says the ministry ordered Green to stop the practice during the first supervision which ended in 2023 when Green was chair.
McDonald alleges the practice has not fully stopped.
“What a lot of elected officials don’t realize is, it’s not even a matter of what is perceived by the public, that’s also important,” she added, “the fact that there are staff members on your foundation or your community services board, which you are getting financially compensated for, the fact that staff members are always attending your events…I just think there’s too much blurring of the lines. It should be all about the students.”
McDonald promises to be approachable to her constituents and fully transparent.
She also alleges that she has been “bullied and harassed and targeted” for dissenting at the board table, something that community members have been subjected to at the hands of Green, referring to Idris Orughu, who was banned from PDSB property following false allegations by Green which the PDSB later apologized for. Parents and activists viewed the ban as an attempt to silence criticism. The tensions followed controversial incidents involving police and Black students, including the handcuffing of a six-year-old girl.
McDonald pointed to a recent conversation with a Wards 1 and 5 resident who, she said, told her he had emailed Green about an issue and received no response, and that Green does not return his calls.
“The more I go out as I’m campaigning, I’m hearing that message, that he has stopped returning calls,” she said.
Her own practice is to respond to every constituent within 48 hours.
“My motto is to never be an absentee trustee,” she said. “The only emails I would say that I don’t return are those mass emails…but when my constituents contact me, I’m elected to represent them.”
McDonald says she rejected the board’s 2025-26 budget, and tied the Province’s decision to take the board over again directly to the same concerns she raised at the time. During a tense meeting last year in the summer, McDonald publicly opposed PDSB’s proposed $2.2-billion budget, introduced by Green, arguing that it failed to protect visible minority students who have been historically marginalized by the PDSB.
The budget passed despite her protests.
McDonald said if elected again she will continue to build on gains she has advocated for including an Indigenous Centre of Excellence and new Muslim and Sikh strategies to help students that the Ministry found have been systemically discriminated against by the PDSB. “These are things that exist now because of the Black community standing up against anti-Black racism,” she said, vowing to keep advocating for all students, from all backgrounds.
She is concerned that progress is now at risk of being rolled back. A motion calling for targeted hiring of Black and South Asian educators has still not been implemented, she said, despite her raising the issue repeatedly. “I have not been supported by my colleagues to ensure that this actually occurs.”
Kathy McDonald says her campaign puts student success first.
(Alexis Wright/The Pointer)
In 2023, McDonald alleged that Green struck her arm at a Mississauga event, in front of her then 11-year-old daughter. McDonald told The Pointer that Green struck her after telling her not to take photos, leaving a bruise that she said lasted several days. The matter is still before the courts. Green sued McDonald, and The Pointer for reporting on the matter, before he offered to drop The Pointer from his legal action.
McDonald said because her daughter witnessed the incident she has continued to pursue the case. “It’s important for me to make sure that she understands that as a young lady, she has a right to work in an environment free from harassment and violence,” she said. “I have a duty as a mother to model for my daughter the fact that she must make sure she doesn’t stay silent or be intimidated by a bully.”
McDonald declined to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings.
She said the election campaign “is not a personal battle between David Green and I. This is about my commitment to doing what’s right for children. I will challenge anybody that, in my opinion, is denying children their legal right to an education.”
She said voters should not mistake her persistence for animosity. “If anybody knows my personality, I’m not petty,” she said. “This is truly about what I believe is best for the board to go forward, best for the children of Peel, the students of Peel and their families.”
“I am a person of integrity, and I do not tire easily, and I always stand up for truth and justice,” she said. “I can’t be bought.”
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