The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is pushing back against Ontario’s education minister, saying his threat to take over the operation of the board if its budget is not balanced was not helpful.
“Comments from the minister last week were not helpful and do not help in our shared goal of supporting the students, parents, and staff we represent,” TDSB vice chair Zakir Patel said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference.
“We urge (Minister Paul Calandra) to work together with us to understand and stress the unique challenges we face.”
Patel was joined by other trustees for an update on the board’s budget, which has recently been under the spotlight after several cost-saving options being floated, including closing several swimming pools and cutting music instructors, raised concerns among parents and the wider community.
The board has said nothing has been finalized as trustees try to address the $58 million budget deficit.
Ontario public school boards are required to submit a balanced budget by the end of June.
Last week during Question Period, Calandra slammed the TDSB’s proposed options, calling them an attack on students and teachers.
“Do the right thing for students, do the right thing for teachers, and if you don’t, I will take you over, and I will put the board back on track,” said Calandra, who last month appointed an investigator to look into TDSB’s finances.
Calandra suggested that the board should instead look into reducing its superintendents to find savings.
During Wednesday’s news conference, Dan MacLean, the chair of the TDSB’s budget committee, pointed out that they’ve already cut superintendent positions in past years to address previous deficits.
“Our remaining superintendents now are responsible for over 26 schools, and in comparison, other boards around the province are around 20,” MacLean said, noting that in other boards there is one superintendent for every 4,500 students, but at the TDSB, there is one for every 5,000.
“So, we’re bigger and we’re leaner.”
Board chair Neethan Shan said during the news conference that he had requested a meeting with Calandra so they could work together to address the challenges the board is facing.
“We still believe a collaborative approach can help us keep the focus on what matters the most, our students,” Shan said.
He went on to assert that while the ministry’s claim that education funding has increased, “it is not the full story.”
“The number, the absolute number, might have increased, but it’s not kept up with inflation,” he said.
“So, we have a crisis in the public education system, and we want to address this together.”
Shan shared that one of the board’s most pressing worries is the $1,500 shortfall in per pupil funding when adjusted for inflation.
“We are deeply concerned about chronic underfunding that is leading to what is happening in our education system across the province. We are concerned because significant funding shortfalls continue to happen and is continuing to threaten our ability to provide high-quality education for all of our students,” said Shan, who challenged the province to “course correct” and make changes to its funding formula.
“It is imperative that we address this issue right now with a sense of urgency. We waited way too long to get this fixed.”
The TDSB chair also wants the province to lift the moratorium on school closures, something the board has been asking the government for since the pause went into effect in 2017. The moratorium has prevented boards from merging underutilized schools.
“The challenges we face are complex, but they’re not insurmountable,” Shan said.
“By prioritizing education funding and addressing specific needs of large urban school boards like the TDSB, we can create an environment where every student has an opportunity to succeed.”
‘I will not allow them to close pools’: Calandra
Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park on Wednesday morning, Calandra stood by his comments, saying the TDSB should look at other avenues to balance the budget.
“Their solutions are unsurprising to me,” the minister told reporters.
“I’m never going to allow them to fire teachers, and I will not allow them to close pools that mean so much to the community.”
Calandra confirmed he received a letter from the TDSB asking for a meeting.
“I welcome their interest in finally getting to the table and doing something, hopefully, that’s positive for the students in the TDSB,” he said.
The minister insisted that the TDSB needs to get back on the path of fiscal responsibility but not at the expense of firing teachers or closing pools.
“And if they think that that’s what they’re going to do, let me be very clear to parents: I will never allow them to do anything that hurts students in the classroom,” he reiterated.
Shan and other trustees, meanwhile, said they welcome the province’s investigation into the TDSB’s finances as they believe it will validate their funding concerns.
“So we want to know where the province thinks that we can cut, and that conversation can lead to possible solution, but I think we are confident that conversation will lead to them actually finding the truth that we are severely underfunded, that there needs to be an adjustment to the funding formula,” Shan said.
He noted that the TDSB has not heard from the financial investigator, who is tasked to report their findings by the end of the month.
“It is disappointing, because we want solutions soon, together,” Shan said. “Time is tight, but we are fully willing to cooperate,” he said.
