Donna Quan resigns post at school board

The Toronto District School Board’s director of education is resigning her post and taking a job in an education research project.

Donna Quan made the announcement late Monday, saying she will stay on at the school board until her replacement is found.

Quan took over as director of education following the resignation of former director Chris Spence, who left amid a plagiarism scandal that included his own dissertation from 1996.

Quan was a polarizing figure to some in her short time at the board, most notably being involved in skirmishes with former Eglinton-Lawrence trustee Howard Goodman.

Their sour relationship made headlines when Goodman was arrested late last year and charged with criminal harassment and forcible confinement — charges dropped over the summer due to no reasonable prospect of conviction. Goodman’s defence had maintained his charges were politically motivated.

It was widely believed Quan was the complainant in that case, and at least one trustee alleged Quan had threatened to “get” Goodman not long before his arrest.

Quan has been involved in education for more than three decades, being involved in several initiatives and programs both with the school board and across Canada, including having worked for the Ministry of Education.

Her new role will be with York University, working on a provincial study to find better ways to collect student demographics.