Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Trustees have voted unanimously to call on the Ministry of Education to remove the provincial moratorium on school closures. During a Special Board Meeting today, Trustees voted in favour of the motion that will help address growing costs to maintain underutilized schools across the TDSB and facilitate long-term planning.
Should the Ministry of Education not lift the moratorium, the TDSB asks that a special exemption be granted that allows the TDSB to consolidate up to four schools per year, until such a time as the moratorium is lifted provincewide. This would enable the TDSB to review schools with low enrolment that face programming challenges and limit students' choices and replace them with a smaller number of state-of-the-art schools with higher enrolment that would result in a larger variety of programming and more opportunities for students.
Additionally, Trustees discussed matters related to the TDSB's 2024-25 operating budget and approved a reduction of $17 million as follows: Central Staff ($5 million), School Renewal ($5 million), and Supporting Staff Self-Wellness ($7 million that will be attained through initiatives in support of staff attendance). Trustees also asked for options with regard to charging possible user fees to support the One-to-One Device Strategy.
Following extensive feedback received from the community on the impacts of proposed reductions, Trustees voted to delay the implementation of some options to balance the 2024-25 operating budget to allow for further stakeholder consultation, including options related to International Language and African Heritage Programs, General Interest/Senior' Daytime Courses, Outdoor Education, and Permit Fees.
Quick Facts
Moratorium on School Closures
- Since 2017, there has been a moratorium on school closures imposed by the Ministry of Education.
- The operation of underutilized and under-enrolled schools creates costly operational budget pressures and inefficiencies, along with programming challenges.
- The TDSB previously received $35.5 million in "top-up" funding per year to support the operation and maintenance of facilities where enrolment was under capacity but this "top-up" funding is no longer provided (as of 2018).
TDSB Budget Process
- Following this evening's decisions, the TDSB currently faces a projected budget deficit of $26.5 million.
