The Toronto District School Board has passed its annual budget and approved cutting $58 million in spending in an attempt to balance the books.
Trustees voted Wednesday night to make an estimated $58 million in spending cuts as part of a slimmer 2012-2013 budget.
The cuts come after the board already cut $51 million, largely by cutting staff positions. TDSB trustees made the cuts to combat an estimated $110-million shortfall.
On Wednesday, trustees did not vote in favour of the series of budget cuts that were previously recommended by Toronto District School Board staff.
Instead, trustees voted to defeat that budget prepared by city staff in a narrow 11-10 vote.
Trustees then voted to re-open the budget, and began debating individual items contained within the staff-prepared report, in order to attempt to find savings.
Items cut at Wednesday's meeting include school maintenance, professional development days for teachers and some school cafeterias.
The board also managed to find an additional $1 million in the budget and was able to avoid making cuts to special education, student services and various budget cuts to individual schools.
According to provincial law, the school board is required to balance its budget by June 30, 2012. If members had failed to do so, the board could have been put under provincial supervision.
