School bells are about to ring throughout Toronto, but advocates are sounding alarms about the impacts certain cuts could have on children’s education.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) announced earlier this year that the deficit for the upcoming school year is down $15 million from the initially projected $74.5 million.
The board acknowledged in its operational budget for the upcoming year that this was made possible through “central staffing reductions and a reduction in discretionary expenses.”
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Compared to the last school year, the board is spending around 37 per cent less on its classroom staffing fund. For classroom teachers specifically, the TDSB is cutting its budget by 27.1 per cent.
In June, a notice filed with the Ministry of Labour revealed nearly 800 positions could be chopped this fall. That exact number has not been finalized, but officials have previously confirmed that “declining enrolment” can see around 289 teaching positions cut for the 2026-27 school year (though those numbers are subject to change).
Student enrolment numbers are not yet confirmed, but the TDSB anticipates 5,000 fewer students. Enrolment is the driving factor of the core education funding the board receives from the province, the TDSB noted in its budget.
“I don’t believe students will see any change this year,” Ryan Bird of the TDSB told CTV News, adding that students won’t be seeing any “day-to-day changes.”
Though TDSB trustees have been sidelined from budgetary decisions after the province appointed a supervisor to manage the board, trustee Deborah Williams says she continues to see the effect of underfunding in classrooms, pointing to the consequences of ballooning class sizes as one factor.
“Some (students) need extra supports and when those are not available, it affects the whole class,” Williams, the elected trustee for University—Rosedale and Toronto Centre, said in an interview with CTV News Toronto.
“I see the amazing things that continue to happen at our schools, our educators continue to support our students, the administrators of our schools continue to lead but it’s becoming more and more challenging.”
The province has implemented a required class size average for Grades 4 to 8, requiring school boards to have an average class size of 24.5 students—a requirement Bird says all school boards follow. Alexis Dawson, the elected Ward 9 Trustee, said that since this rule was struck down by the provincial supervisor, the cap on class sizes has effectively been removed.
“I’m hearing from many staff that they have triple split grades, for instance a close friend of mine is teaching a Grade 6/7/8 split, and I’m hearing of 1/2/3 splits,” Dawson said in an interview with CTV News Toronto. “I would imagine there will be many of those types of situations as we move into the new school year.”
Jessica Besser-Rosenberg, chair of the parent council at Annette Street Junior and Senior Public School, said she is very concerned about the teachers’ well-being, particularly as they take on more responsibilities while their hands are already full.
The mother of two recounted hearing from her children’s teachers about more “out-of-control” incidences among children with specialized needs in classrooms due to a lack proper supports. She added that her comment was not a slight to the “amazing” teachers at the school but more so a reflection of a lack of funding and resources.
“Our per-student funding has not kept pace with inflation. There are more students in the classroom and there’s less funding for those resources that are available to help students, like those special needs assistants, educational assistants, and so on,” Besser-Rosenberg said.
Williams says not providing one-on-one supports for students who need it can stigmatize them.
Of the projected cuts to teaching positions this coming school year, around 150 of them are seen at model schools. These schools provide a range of supports for students in low-income communities—including mental health supports, which Dawson says will be consequently impacted.
The trustee says 80 school resource child and youth worker positions were cut.
“Their job description has changed to remove the mental health support piece, so I have no idea how children in high school are going to be coping without the staff support,” Dawson said.
With a round 40 vice-principal roles cut across the board, Dawson says this will further impact model schools as they acted as community support workers who organized school councils and encouraged parent engagement.
“Studies show that parent involvement is inextricably linked to student achievement, and without that support for parents, students will suffer,” Dawson said.
Outside of staffing cuts, the TDSB noted in May that nine school cafeterias will stop selling food to students, several outdoor education programs will be cut and central library services will be “streamlined.”
“My son’s cafeteria at his school has been cut, and there were many students who would receive cafeteria vouchers for free food during the school day,” Dawson said.
Letter-writing campaign
The lack of transparency around the budget effectively forced Besser-Rosenberg’s pen in joining the TDSB parent council letter writing campaign.
“Trustees were suspended and we didn’t really have anyone to go to. We weren’t getting answers from the supervisor and when we were, they were really sort of perfunctory form letter type answers, and so we were sort of sick of old man yelling at clouds,” Besser-Rosenberg said.
There have been around 28 waves of letters sent to the superintendent, education minister and premier, according to Besser-Rosenberg, with each note detailing various concerns parents have of their children’s education to show they will not stay silent.
“Parents across the board, across all political stripes, are very, very concerned about the state of public education in Toronto,” Besser-Rosenberg said.
CTV News Toronto reached out to the ministry of education for comment.
With files from CP24’s Codi Wilson
