TDSB chair calls on provincial parties to 'prioritize young people,' reimburse pandemic-related costs
The chair of the Toronto District School Board is asking political parties to “put younger people first” and reimburse Toronto schools for pandemic-related costs ahead of the upcoming provincial election.
Alexander Brown held a news conference Wednesday, two weeks ahead of the June 2 election, and said “education has been missing” in all of the parties’ platforms.
“I strongly believe that education should play a larger role in this election. This provincial government needs to prioritize the young people of Ontario who we can all agree have suffered greatly over these past two years,” he said from the TDSB’s head office on Wednesday afternoon.
The TDSB is projecting a deficit of $52.2 million for the 2022-23 school year, primarily due to pandemic-related costs and declining enrollment. The deficit also includes the TDSB’s annual structural deficit.
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
At the news conference, Brown urged all parties to commit to providing the TDSB with additional funding to cover the shortfall. He also wants additional funding for the board’s three-phase pandemic recovery plan that will identify groups that have been most impacted by the pandemic, where interventions will be put in place, and initial outcomes that result from those interventions.
“I'm specifically asking for a commitment to reimburse all pandemic-related expenses incurred by the school boards over the past two years, to fully fund the TDSB’s pandemic recovery plan and to reinstate the enrollment stabilization funding, provide additional funding to cover cost increases related to employee benefits, utilities and other inflationary cost increases that are not currently funded by the ministry,” Brown said.
If additional funding is not given to the TDSB then Brown said it will have to look for savings, and cuts will have to be made to staffing and programming.
“We would have to find the $52 million in our budget as with the money that the province gives us, which means that we'd have to look at the programming, we may have to shift where we put resources to move it into the pot to pay for, to cover the $52 million. We may see decreases in staff. We're always worried that programming may be affected by this,” he said.
Earlier this week, the TDSB updated its three-year projection and recovery plan to cover the deficit by paying an estimated $12 million in the first year and $12 million in each of the following years.
Over the past two years, Brown said he has sent numerous letters to Education Minister Stephen Lecce that outline deficit concerns and request additional funding.
Brown also noted that the current Ford government doesn’t have “a good record so far” with funding for the TDSB as the government slashed almost $70 million of the board’s funding in the first year Ford came into office in 2018.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Hurricane Milton strengthens into a Category 5 storm. Florida orders evacuations
Hurricane Milton strengthens into a Category 5 storm off Mexico and threatens Florida, forecasters say.
Two people seriously injured in apparent 'road rage' collision in Toronto: police
Police say that they are investigating an apparent road rage incident in North York that may have involved gunfire.
Sammy Basso, longest living survivor of rare rapid-aging disease progeria, dies at 28
Sammy Basso, who was the longest living survivor of the rare genetic disease progeria, has died at the age of 28, the Italian Progeria Association said on Sunday.
A Canadian woman was recently diagnosed with scurvy. Here are the factors tied to the disease
Scurvy is not just an archaic diagnosis of 18th-century seafarers and doctors should watch for possible cases, according to researchers following a recent case.
Self-identifying Indigenous group got $74M in federal cash, Inuit leader wants change
As millions in federal funding flow into a Labrador group whose claims of Inuit identity have been rejected by Indigenous organizations across Canada, a national Inuit leader worries the Liberal government is putting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at risk.
Alleged suicide kit salesman files in Supreme Court to contest whether assisted suicide can ever be murder
Lawyers representing the Ontario man accused of selling hundreds of suicide kits with deadly effect around the globe have filed to intervene in a case in Canada’s highest court, arguing there is no way he can be charged with murder under Canadian law.
'Selfish billionaire': Chip Wilson's mansion vandalized after political sign erected outside
Days after a political sign was erected outside Chip Wilson's Vancouver mansion, the waterfront property has been vandalized with graffiti.
Russian court sentences a 72-year-old American to nearly 7 years in prison for fighting in Ukraine
A Russian court on Monday sentenced a 72-year-old American in a closed trial to nearly seven years in prison for allegedly fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.
U.K. doctor admits trying to kill his mother's partner with poison disguised as a COVID-19 vaccine
A British doctor on Monday admitted trying to kill his mother's long-term partner, who stood between him and an inheritance, by injecting the man with poison disguised as a COVID-19 vaccine.