TDSB asks province to lift ban on closing, merging schools in bid to fill $26.5M budget hole | CBC News

Toronto District School Board is asking the provincial government to lift a ban on closing and merging schools, saying it would help address a budget deficit by eliminating costs of maintaining underused facilities.

At a special board meeting Thursday, trustees voted unanimously in favour of a motion requesting the Ministry of Education end the moratorium, which has been in place since 2017.

The motion also asks that, if the province is unwilling to lift its ban, that the TDSB be given an exemption to “consolidate up to four schools” each year.

“This would enable the TDSB to review schools with low enrolment that face programming challenges and limit students’ choices and replace them with a smaller number of state-of-the-art schools with higher enrolment that would result in a larger variety of programming and more opportunities for students,” the board said in a news release about the motion.

The TDSB says it faces a projected budget deficit of $26.5 million for the 2024 fiscal year.

Asked about the TDSB’s request during a funding announcement earlier Thursday, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the government’s priority is building new schools.

“So we are going to focus on that for the time being,” he told reporters.

Lecce said it is up to the TDSB to bring its budget back to balance.

“We are obviously willing to work with all school boards. But we expect them to do what every board is doing, which is coming up with a balanced budget. That is our expectation,” he said.

During the special board meeting Thursday, trustees also approved $17 million in spending cuts, including $5 million each for central staffing and school renewals.