The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) says there will be staffing cuts among teachers in the upcoming school year, but says the number will be lower than what the unions representing elementary and secondary school educators are saying.
The Elementary Teachers of Toronto (ETT) and Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF Toronto) said on Tuesday that numbers released by the TDSB show a total of 607 teaching staff would be cut.
But a spokesperson for TDSB told Global News in a statement the number of cuts is expected to be slightly less than 300. Spokesperson Ryan Bird said the cuts are a result of nearly 5,000 fewer students expected in the upcoming school year.
“When compared to the current number of elementary and secondary teachers in the TDSB, we anticipate approximately 289 fewer teaching positions,” Bird said in a statement. “It’s important to note that staffing continues to fluctuate right up until the new school year, so these numbers are not final.”
The number is stark from what ETT and OSSTF Toronto outlined, with about 483.5 elementary positions cut and 123.5 full-time equivalent secondary school roles to be eliminated.
According to numbers provided to Global News by ETT, about 254 of those roles proposed to be cut are elementary classroom teachers. Another 72 are those teaching students where English is their second language (ESL). OSSTF said there are 23 ESL staff being cut.
Another 145 elementary teachers will be cut from the board’s learning opportunities or “model school” program, which receives added staff supports, with 30 secondary teachers also eliminated. These schools are often found in lower-income neighbourhoods, but also can include First Nations, Inuit and Metis alternative schools.
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“The biggest impact is there will be less caring adults in the building,” said Michelle Teixeira, president of the OSSTF Toronto Teacher Bargaining Unit. “We know that the more adults in a building, the better outcomes of success for students.”
She added that with fewer staff, the remaining will face bigger class sizes.
Helen Victoros, president of ETT, told Global News the finger is being pointed directly at the provincial government.
Last August, Education Minister Paul Calandra announced Rohit Gupta would be tasked with overseeing the financial and operational management of TDSB.
“He will take the time needed to not only bring the board’s budget into balance, but also ensure long-term stability for years to come, so that funding goes where it belongs: directly into classrooms to support students and teachers,” Calandra wrote in a letter to the school community.
Victoros said that’s not what has happened.
“At that time when they took over, you know, they basically said that they wanted to deliver more resources to the classroom, but every indicator and every decision that we’ve seen them make since they took over has been exactly the opposite,” she said. “When we got these numbers, we were shocked.
“This is a wake-up call to every parent in the province that is not in a board right now under provincial takeover, that this is what happens when the minister takes over and the province takes over.”
Ontario NDP MPP and education shadow minister Jessica Bell condemned the decision to appoint Gupta, and said the proposed cuts would create more difficulty.
“TDSB students are already packed into overcrowded classrooms in rundown schools, thanks to eight years of Doug Ford’s funding cuts,” Bell said in a statement. “These latest cuts will see class sizes increase and student supports disappear.”
Global News has reached out to Calandra’s office for comment on the cuts.
Victoros said if the number is much lower than the cuts they were told, as outlined by the TDSB, they would be pleased.
“All teachers, I think, and all the staff connected with the TDSB will be very, very happy if those numbers that they initially provided to us just a week and a half ago are wrong,” Victoros said.
Global News has requested a breakdown of the 289 cuts and how they are being allocated, including regarding “model schools” and ESL teachers.
There’s still skepticism, though, with Teixeira saying there’s been a lack of transparency over the numbers.
“Unlike in previous years, this information has not been shared on the website. There has been no public consultation, there has been no ability for trustees or the public to ask questions about the numbers,” Teixeira said.
It’s why Victoros said they’re urging the government to reverse the cuts and change the funding formula for schools “based on student needs.”
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