John Tory wants to be in the loop on TDSB school closures

WATCH ABOVE: John Tory wants to be in the loop on TDSB school closures. Mark McAllister reports. 

TORONTO – Mayor John Tory wants the city to be consulted before any decisions are made to close under-utilized schools at the Toronto District School Board.

Tory sent a two-page letter to board chair Shaun Chen, Minister of Education Liz Sandals, and Toronto Catholic District School Board chair and trustee Mike Del Grande on Monday which criticized the way the school closure debate was being handled.

“It seems to me that the conversation has become polarized with the two opposing positions being: never sell a school property versus sell every property that does not meet the capacity,” Tory wrote.

“I believe the most productive way forward lies somewhere in between these views.”

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READ MORE: Falling enrolment numbers forces TDSB to look at closing schools

Falling enrolment at the TDSB is forcing officials to look at closing down 84 elementary schools and 46 secondary schools with a threshold capacity of 65 per cent or less.

But Tory’s letter identifies a number of broader implications that could keep so-called under-utilized schools valuable including childcare or adult education services. Tory’s letter also asks the province considers how the land is used should the school be sold, suggesting it could be used as green space.

“We have the option of buying it as fair market value, which sometimes is a very inflated price and we’re buying with taxpayer’s money,” Tory said. “I don’t think it would make sense to most taxpayers to pay for land that is owned by taxpayers.”

TDSB board chair Shaun Chen told reporters at a press conference Tuesday afternoon that he is hoping to set up a roundtable with city officials, including the mayor, that would look into how they could work together on issues like closing schools.

“We want community hubs, the public believes that schools are community assets and how can we better work together… to make sure we are respecting taxpayers and making sure schools are used to achieve their full potential,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We want community hubs, the public believes that schools are community assets and how can we better work together… to make sure we are respecting taxpayers and making sure schools are used to achieve their full potential," he said.

Councillor Josh Matlow is looking to form a separate group of councillors and trustees that would also look at which schools could be closed and whether they should.

Sandals said last Thursday the board is responsible for closing schools it doesn’t need.

“We want to make sure that rather than spending $1 billion on supporting empty space that we’re actually spending money on the kids that are there,” Sandals said.

READ MORE: TDSB review blames trustees for ‘culture of fear’

The list of potential school closures was presented to trustees in January, a week after the board voted to comply with recommendations ordered by the province following the release of a scathing report detailing a “culture of fear” at the public institution.

The school board faces a provincially imposed deadline of Feb. 13 to figure out how it plans to deal with under-utilized schools.