Globe and Mail 28/02/07
CAROLINE ALPHONSO
EDUCATION REPORTER
Toronto's public school board will consider plans today to cut more than 100 education assistants, lunchroom supervisors and vice-principals in the face of declining student enrolment.
Furthermore, trustees will look at relocating 100 schoolteachers and 27 teacher/librarians in the city core to meet a cap on primary-class sizes mandated by the provincial government.
Trustee Irene Atkinson questioned why the board should take on the responsibility of clawing back teachers in poor neighbourhoods in order to support the government's initiative on class sizes.
"The government is not paying the bill. It mandates these initiatives, which are fine. But then they don't give us enough money to do it," Ms. Atkinson said yesterday. "We have to rob Peter to pay Paul all of the time."
In its election campaign, the Liberal government promised to cap classes at about 20 students from junior kindergarten to Grade 3.
Ms. Atkinson said, "we wouldn't have to go through all this disruption" if the government gave the Toronto District School Board more money for these initiatives.
But Ontario's Education Minister Kathleen Wynne said yesterday that school boards are receiving extra money to reduce primary-class sizes. "We funded it last year, and we will be funding it this year," Ms. Wynne said.
The money will start flowing to school boards within the next few weeks, she added. "They're making these decisions in advance of knowing exactly what their numbers are going to be," she said of the Toronto board.
Even as money flows for new initiatives, Don Higgins, the board's executive superintendent of business services, said the board faces financial challenges, despite balancing its books.
Indeed, many cuts were deferred at the board's last budget meeting. At that time, trustees made cuts to school maintenance and head office spending, but did not lay a finger on its support staff.
Describing it as a "modest reduction," Mr. Higgins said trustees will consider cutting 130 education assistants, 34 lunchroom supervisors and five vice-principals. This is to reflect the fact that fewer students attend Toronto's public schools.
Mr. Higgins said the cuts will not affect special-needs students.