Failed Progressive Conservative candidate Cameron Montgomery has landed a $140,000-a-year job chairing the agency that administers province-wide standardized testing for students — a post for which his predecessor typically earned less than $5,000.Montgomery’s appointment as chair of the board of directors at the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) marks the first time the position is a full-time job — a move that has drawn criticism.“It’s not a full-time job, and I don’t know how you make it into a full-time job,” said former NDP education minister Dave Cooke, who was a board member for 10 years, the last three as chair, before retiring in October. “If he’s there every day I don’t know what (Montgomery) is going to do.” Montgomery’s appointment by the Doug Ford government follows lengthy public consultations on how to improve education and comes at a time when the independent provincial agency says it’s in the process of modernizing to better meet the needs of students, parents and educators.As chair, Cooke earned a per diem of $225, which in 2018 amounted to $3,600. During one unusually busy year, with lots of meetings, he recalls earning more, but still less than $20,000. Cooke, who was one of the architects of the EQAO, established in 1996, wonders what Montgomery will do to warrant an annual salary of $140,000.The agency administers tests in Grades 3, 6, 9 and 10 to assess reading, writing and math skills to help identify curriculum areas that need attention. Its responsibilities include coming up with strategies to improve accountability and making recommendations to bolster the quality of public education. The agency’s daily operations are led by professional staff headed by a CEO, who reports to the board, which meets at least four times a year. The board is accountable, through its chair, to the minister of education and must maintain an arm’s-length ...
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