Ward 7 Report from January 22, 2013 Meeting
1. Trustee Atkinson presented a report on the TDSB budget.
Highlights include:
a. Reports that TDSB funding is up while enrollment is down are misleading. Gross funding is up, but net funding is down. This is due to the fact that all of the additional funding goes to: class caps, full day kindergarten, literacy and numeracy initiatives, staff pay increases, and inflation.
b. Net funding is down $450/student/year from 1998 to 2009. In a secondary school of 1,000 students, this means a reduction of $450,000/year.
c. For this present year gross funding is down $12 Million.
d. There are no definitive numbers yet, but the TDSB will likely have a total shortfall of between $30 and $90 million.
f. TDSB has a significant shortfall in the capital budget.
In 2000 we had a backlog of $960 Million.
By 2010 this had grown to $3 Billion.
2. Potential areas to cut:
- busing for French Immersion
- elimination of Itinerant Music Teachers
– Special Education more in line with funding
– reduction to Model Schools for Inner Cities
- more teacher reductions – library & guidance.
3. SAT team – Special Assistance Team assigned to the Board to review our operations and capital budgets as well as the Price Waterhouse Report. Dr. Ralph Benson is assigned to the Capital side of things and Bill Hogarth to both operations and capital. They are both former staff at the York Region Board: Bill Hogarth was Director. They expect to be at TDSB until the end of June. They report to the Ministry of Education staff and Minister.
5 Year Capital Plan: The Minister placed the whole 5 year plan on hold pending investigation of projects and funding. So far, three projects have been released from the “pause” – Swansea and Keele additions and Earl Haig. There is presently some question over the funding for the projects: a staff report will go to Planning & Priorities Committee on January 30th, followed by a report with recommendations to the February 6th Board meeting.
The SAT team plan to make reports and announcements with respect to the capital plan every few weeks. They will not wait until the end of June to make announcements re the capital plan.
4. K-12 Strategy Project Report is complete and will be presented to the board.
5. SWANSEA PARENT ENGAGEMENT SURVEY report given by Amy Sullivan.
A copy of the full survey was handed out at the meeting as well as a synopsis of the process. Fern is in contact with Amy, a former Fern parent, on ways that we might use her survey methods for a Fern parent survey.
The next Ward 7 meeting is Tuesday, March 5 at 7 pm. Click here for previous reports from our Ward 7 Rep.
Highlights include:
a. Reports that TDSB funding is up while enrollment is down are misleading. Gross funding is up, but net funding is down. This is due to the fact that all of the additional funding goes to: class caps, full day kindergarten, literacy and numeracy initiatives, staff pay increases, and inflation.
b. Net funding is down $450/student/year from 1998 to 2009. In a secondary school of 1,000 students, this means a reduction of $450,000/year.
c. For this present year gross funding is down $12 Million.
d. There are no definitive numbers yet, but the TDSB will likely have a total shortfall of between $30 and $90 million.
f. TDSB has a significant shortfall in the capital budget.
In 2000 we had a backlog of $960 Million.
By 2010 this had grown to $3 Billion.
2. Potential areas to cut:
- busing for French Immersion
- elimination of Itinerant Music Teachers
– Special Education more in line with funding
– reduction to Model Schools for Inner Cities
- more teacher reductions – library & guidance.
3. SAT team – Special Assistance Team assigned to the Board to review our operations and capital budgets as well as the Price Waterhouse Report. Dr. Ralph Benson is assigned to the Capital side of things and Bill Hogarth to both operations and capital. They are both former staff at the York Region Board: Bill Hogarth was Director. They expect to be at TDSB until the end of June. They report to the Ministry of Education staff and Minister.
5 Year Capital Plan: The Minister placed the whole 5 year plan on hold pending investigation of projects and funding. So far, three projects have been released from the “pause” – Swansea and Keele additions and Earl Haig. There is presently some question over the funding for the projects: a staff report will go to Planning & Priorities Committee on January 30th, followed by a report with recommendations to the February 6th Board meeting.
The SAT team plan to make reports and announcements with respect to the capital plan every few weeks. They will not wait until the end of June to make announcements re the capital plan.
4. K-12 Strategy Project Report is complete and will be presented to the board.
5. SWANSEA PARENT ENGAGEMENT SURVEY report given by Amy Sullivan.
A copy of the full survey was handed out at the meeting as well as a synopsis of the process. Fern is in contact with Amy, a former Fern parent, on ways that we might use her survey methods for a Fern parent survey.
The next Ward 7 meeting is Tuesday, March 5 at 7 pm. Click here for previous reports from our Ward 7 Rep.
