Toronto Star, May. 3, 2003

Schools heading for a meltdown

BOB HEPBURN

While most of us have rightly focused our attention lately on the SARS outbreak and the U.S. invasion of Iraq, staffers at the Toronto District School Board headquarters on Yonge Street have been planning for the school year starting in September.

At the same time, they are gazing into the future, trying to forecast what our public school system will look like in the years to come.

And what they see isn't good.

In fact, Toronto's public schools are headed for a meltdown.

Unless a miracle happens, the board will be forced to take draconian steps to keep the schools operating at even a minimal existence.

If you think the Toronto schools have already been decimated by budget cutbacks, well, as the saying goes: "You ain't seen nothing yet."

For the coming school year, the TDSB is considering the loss of 175 teachers and 30 vice-principal positions across the city. They blame the cuts on falling enrolment and failure of funding from Queen's Park to keep pace with rising teacher salaries.

By 2005, the board may be forced to close more than 50 schools, or almost 10 per cent of its current lineup of 557 schools; lay off hundreds of teachers and administrative staffers; slash programs; postpone needed repairs to aging buildings; impose more and higher fees to use playing fields.

All of that will be on top of the drastic cuts the TDSB has already taken since 1998 when its budgets first came under severe pressure.

Such radical measures won't be limited to Toronto schools. They will also be coming to schools in Durham, Halton and Peel, but just not as soon.

Don't believe in doomsday scenarios?

Well, look at what's happening in the United States, where school boards everywhere are fighting for money as conservative politicians continue to push for more and more tax cuts.

In Oregon, for example, schools are letting students out for summer a month early because they can't afford to keep the schools open a full year.

Similar moves will happen in Toronto if the tax-cutting Tories led by Premier Ernie Eves have their way. Regrettably, the Tories remain one of the last holdouts in North America believing that major tax cuts will help schools, hospitals and social services.

Indeed, the opposite has happened everywhere, especially in the U.S.

Besides its budget crunch, the TDSB faces major challenges that few boards in Canada have ever encountered.

The Toronto public system is the largest in Canada, with a $2-billion budget. It is still struggling with the 1998 amalgamation of seven boards into one. Also, the Conservative government took away the right of all school boards in Ontario to levy their own taxes.

The province appointed Paul Christie as board supervisor last fall and stripped the 22-member board of trustees of any power after the members failed to balance their budget.

Christie slashed $90 million with cuts in everything from outdoor education to guidance counsellors.

Now, senior board staff led by David Reid, the director of education, are facing a projected $50 million deficit for next year. In truth, the real deficit will exceed $80 million.

In addition, teacher unions are threatening strikes this fall unless they get big pay raises for their members.

What's most troubling is that the board trustees have no role and may never get it back under the Tories.

Many educators, including Reid, are now strongly suggesting Toronto and other boards look at their own governance structure and the role and responsibilities of trustees.

In a controversial proposal that could put his job on the line, Reid suggests school boards be composed of elected plus appointed officials.

He believes too many elected Toronto trustees are committed "to openly defying, if not overthrowing, the government" and forget their primary role should be to act as members of a board making policy decisions.

"Having seen the consequences (in Toronto), I am beginning to believe that we desperately need a new model for governance in education," Reid said this week in a speech.

"Our education system is in a tremendous state of flux. For the sake of our students, we must find the moral courage to do the hard thinking and make the tough decisions that are needed to get this right."

Reid is right about the need for a new way of governing our schools. His proposal may have some merit. But his bigger contribution is to get this debate started.

At stake is the future of our schools - and our children's education.