Lecce cool to TDSB shutting schools to save money
The Toronto public board is asking the province for permission to close some schools and to save money down the road, but Education Minister Stephen Lecce quickly shut down the idea.
“It is incredibly clear that (the board) lacks the capacity to manage their budget and prioritize services for students in schools from kindergarten to Grade 12,” Lecce said in a statement to the Star about the request from the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) to either end the province-wide moratorium on school closings or, alternatively, exempt it.
“We have provided the TDSB with $128 million more funding since 2019, while effectively managing the same number of students,” he added.
“After running a series of deficits over the last 20 years and increasing school board staffing on the Sunshine List, my message to TDSB is to focus on prioritizing students and stop subsidizing services for nonpublic school students,” he said, referring to running afterhours classes for the community, among other items. “I think (the board) needs to get its finances in order and balance the budget like all others across the province” for its 2024-5 budget.
Last Thursday, after a special meeting, the Toronto board was unanimous in asking the Education Ministry to lift the provincewide ban on closing schools that was put in place in 2017 by the previous Liberal government after it came under fire for the number of small communities that were impacted by local boards shuttering schools. The Tories extended the ban after taking office in 2018, and it has remained in place since.
Trustees say they need to shut down some schools to “help address growing costs to maintain underutilized schools across the TDSB and facilitate long-term planning.” Such a move would not help the board in the short term, however, given closing schools is a lengthy, often controversial process that involves community consultation.
The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, which represents more than 30 English public boards across the province, has also
It is incredibly clear that (the board) lacks the capacity to manage their budget.
STEPHEN LECCE EDUCATION MINISTER
advocated for an end to the moratorium, saying last year that while closings can be tough for communities, “they are often necessary to ensure the academic success of students and the long-term financial stability of the school district while responding to natural shifts in demographics over time.”
The association said “during the moratorium, school boards have been delicately balancing the upkeep of aging infrastructure, shifting enrolment and financial pressures while doing their best to deliver quality programming in their schools. The current situation has created unsustainable funding deficits.”
The Toronto board is facing a $26.5-million shortfall for the 2024-25 school year.