City staff have identified dozens of spare rooms in municipal facilities that could be used by public schools this fall, as well as nine library branches that they say could be closed to the public entirely if there is a need for even more classroom space amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter sent to the heads of the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board on Tuesday, City Manager Chris Murray said that staff have identified 36 rooms in 24 city-owned facilities that can easily be made available to both boards without having to cancel programming.

He said that staff have also identified another nine spare spaces in library branches, as well as nine such locations that “could be offered entirely for exclusive use by the boards” provided that the Toronto Public Library Board agrees to close those facilities to the public for as long as they are needed.

All of the spaces identified by city staff meet the board’s requirement of having appropriate instructional space and access to dedicated washrooms and adjacent green space, Murray said. They could also be made available for Sept. 8 when in-person instruction is expected to resume.

“As a next step, city staff are prepared to meet with your representatives to discuss specific terms and conditions of use that will be required in order to expedite the formalization of this arrangement, including duration and the requirement that all costs incurred by the city to support operational cleaning and security costs will be fully recovered by both boards,” Murray wrote. “The city remains an engaged partner and I am pleased to be able to offer this support to assist you in safely returning students to school.”

The provincial government has opted not to decrease the average size of elementary schools classes this fall, though it has said that boards can access their reserve funds to secure additional staff and “alternative locations” to allow for greater physical distancing in classrooms.

Speaking with CP24 last week, TDSB Chair Alexander Brown said that his board is committed to reopening schools with smaller elementary class sizes though it remains unclear how that will be accomplished, especially after the province rejected the TDSB’s plan to end the school day 48 minutes earlier.

The TDSB board is meeting this afternoon and is expected to consider a revised plan on how to reopen schools in the fall.

“We want to get those smaller class sizes in place for the beginning of the year,” Brown told CP24 last week. “The challenge with it is that… if we do that, we are going to have to look at where we put the kids.”