ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½

Chair Neethan Shan said the province is “strategically” trying to “diminish the power of public education,” which is why he voted against a budget that includes the elimination of a specialized music program and could result in pool closures.

While some might consider it irresponsible for a trustee to vote against balancing the budget, he said, “I see this as my way of standing up to a bully who actually is not prioritizing public education.”

Trustees grappled with budget decisions against the backdrop of a provincial probe into the board’s finances, which hasn’t yet been made public. And Minister of Education Paul Calandra had warned that if trustees didn’t balance the books, the province would step in and take control of Canada’s largest school board. 

A spokesperson for the minister says the TDSB was given a record increase in funding this year and multiple opportunities to address its financial situation. 

“The province has been asking the board to find savings of less than 2 per cent, and instead of looking for administrative savings, they have threatened to cut services for students,” said Justine Teplycky in an email. 

“The TDSB’s historic mismanagement required our government to take immediate action, which is why we announced a financial investigation to ensure board resources are going to support students. We will review the report’s findings and are prepared to take additional action.”

Trustee Michelle Aarts supported the budget because she didn’t want to risk the TDSB being placed under financial supervision.

She said there are a “myriad of student supports and programs,” including special education, mental health and student safety, that the ministry considers overspending. “None of these programs are safe from an accountant who is sent in to balance budgets,” said Aarts.

The budget includes cost-cutting measures in 2025-26 and 2026-27, along with a request to the ministry that the TDSB be allowed to use $13.7 million of its proceeds of disposition, which is money from the sale of board property.

“We have tried our very best to centre our students first and to take a people-centred approach,” said director of education Clayton La Touche. 

Among the most contentious items were changes to outdoor education, swimming pool closures and the elimination of the itinerant music program, all of which sparked public outcry in recent weeks. 

The TDSB will temporarily close the Scarborough Outdoor Education School and permanently shutter the Sheldon Centre for Outdoor Education, which will result in 24 positions eliminated. (Trustees asked that the director report back next year on whether Sheldon can be saved.)

Pools and aquatics instructors will remain available to students and community members for another year. But the TDSB will move to a cost-recovery model when operating its pools, so any that are not leased in 2026-27 face closure. (Staff are negotiating new lease agreements with the City of ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ and exploring private leases for all other pools.)

And a new music program will be implemented in 2026-27, which will result in the elimination of 74 itinerant music instructors, who are professional musicians that enrich curriculum. (Trustees can reconsider the elimination of the itinerant music program during next year’s budget process, and asked that the director reconsider investing in that program if there are sufficient funds.)

The plan also includes hiking fees for general interest and other continuing education programming, along with a pause on issuing new Chromebooks to students next year.

Trustee Weidong Pei said he wouldn’t support a budget with “deep and harmful” cuts, particularly to the itinerant music program and outdoor education, and that fails to reduce expenditures at the senior administrative level. 

“A responsible and values-driven budget must begin with a shared sacrifice,” he said. “I do not see that reflected in this plan, which preserves layers of central bureaucracy while eliminating essential programming.”

David Lepofsky, chair of the Special Education Advisory Committee at the TDSB, said he was thankful there were no budget cuts to special education staff. (Trustees later invested an extra $2 million toward special education.)

But he criticized a staff proposal that will see some special education class sizes increased and urged trustees not to give staff a “blank cheque” that lets them do whatever they want. Yet trustees were told by senior staff that they have no say on the issue of class caps because it’s an operational matter.

Prior to the board meeting, students from Rosedale Heights School of the Arts protested outside — not over the budget, but because their longtime principal Barrie Sketchley is being transferred. The decision by TDSB staff to move Sketchley, who’s in his mid-80s, has upset students and parents who say he’s being pushed into retirement.

During the meeting, Pei called the transfer an insult to “every educator who pours their heart and soul into public service,” and called on the director to explain the move. But La Touche said personnel matters can’t be discussed publicly and there’s a “lengthy, robust process” that goes into decisions on transfers, noting “the move is final and will not be reconsidered.” 

The TDSB, which has about 237,000 students, has an operating budget of about $3.7 billion, with 87 per cent going to staff salaries.

The board has a structural deficit, which means it spends more than it receives in funding. Reasons for this include ministry funding that hasn’t kept pace with inflation; unfunded increases in statutory benefits (Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance); salaries for teachers that exceed ministry benchmarks; and the inability to close underused schools because of a provincial moratorium. (The TDSB has 63,000 more spaces in schools than it has students.)