Toronto school board must trim surplus schools

Haven’t we seen this movie before? Once again, Toronto’s beleaguered public school board is under pressure to close half-empty schools. Once again, emotions are running high as school trustees and parents’ groups decry the potential loss of educational resources. And once again, the kids take a back seat to jockeying among the grown-ups.

It’s a tired old tale, and it’s high time for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) to stop this latest chapter from being as crammed with unnecessary drama as so many of the previous ones. The board needs to stop ducking the issue and come up with a plan to better align its space with its budget.

By the board’s own estimation – made public last week – a fifth of its schools are operating at less than 65-per-cent capacity. Trustees, of course, argue that doesn’t reflect the real situation inside many schools. Some house daycare centres, adult education and other programs, they point out, and are way busier than they appear on paper.

All that may be true, but there’s no getting away from the fact that the schools we have were built to educate children at a time when families had many more kids – and the declining birthrate means there are far fewer of them now.  (more...)

Toronto school board must trim surplus schools

Imagine what could happen if the provincial empire was dismantled and local governance restored:

Closing schools not the answer to budget woes

While the politicos bicker:

It’s not the earth the meek inherit, it’s the dirt

And an OSSTF flunky blames Harris 6 times (count 'em):

Too cool for school