Mattawa, Ontario – The Near North District School Board has appointed Jay MacJanet as its new Director of Education, effective Jan. 6, 2026, the board said in a media release.
The announcement, issued Jan. 5, 2026, follows the board being placed under provincial supervision by the Ontario Ministry of Education on Dec. 1, 2025, after a review that said it had “deep-rooted dysfunction and mismanagement” that eroded public confidence. The review and subsequent reporting also highlighted low results in Grade 9 mathematics: just 34 per cent of fully participating Grade 9 students met the provincial standard in 2024–25.
MacJanet comes to the role with more than 26 years in public education. He served 13 years as a principal in the District School Board of Niagara and most recently worked as a superintendent of education with the Trillium Lakelands District School Board. He will lead system-wide operations affecting roughly 10,000 students across 34 schools.
His appointment follows a leadership review and the province’s temporary supervision of the board. Education Minister Paul Calandra has publicly criticized the board’s results and governance, saying the system produced “horrific results” in student testing and that public confidence had been eroded.
In Mattawa, the Director of Education is responsible for programming at Mattawa District Public School (Kindergarten to Grade 6) and F.J. McElligott Secondary School (Grades 7 to 12). Local reporting and the research brief note the community has previously fought to keep its secondary school open (notably in 2002 and 2014) and that local parents have raised concerns about delays in repairs and trustee turnover.
Local coverage and the research brief also highlight the Personal Support Worker (PSW) program at Mattawa District Public School — a partnership with the Algonquin Nursing Home described as a “living classroom” providing vocational preparation in health care. The research brief identifies preserving and building on such local successes as a priority for the new leadership, but the board’s materials do not contain a direct quote from MacJanet promising to ‘protect’ that specific program.
An NNDSB statement, reported by regional outlets, praised MacJanet’s conviction that student achievement should be the board’s top priority. MacJanet himself said in the board release: “Public education is strongest when schools, families, and communities work together in trust and partnership… I look forward to listening, learning, and working alongside staff, parents, and community partners.” The board said he will engage with school communities as he begins his role.
MacJanet succeeds Craig Myles, who retired in December 2025 amid the provincial takeover. The new director will begin his duties Jan. 6, 2026, and will be responsible for overseeing implementation of board-wide priorities and working with provincial supervisors and local stakeholders to support student achievement and rebuild public trust.
