Toronto District School Board staff will recommend closing 23 school pools at a budget meeting to be held on Wednesday.
St. Paul's trustee Josh Matlow told CP24 on Tuesday night that the staff report recommends the temporary closure of 16 pools and permanent closure of another seven. He did not say which pools may be on the chopping block.
He says the recommendations arrived on the eve of a budget vote, which means parents and community members rallying to keep the pools open will have no time to react to the report.
"I hope they swim rather than sink," he says. "They are important to the community. There is no appetite to see more pools be closed"
However, Matlow says a recent task force headed by former Mayor David Crombie found that a number of the pools slated for closure could be saved.
The TDSB voted last year to close all school pools if funding couldn't be secured to pay for their operations.
However, proponents of keeping the pools open have suggested such options as naming sponsorships and renting out pool time.
