The Toronto District School Board will have to axe around 300 full-time jobs to meet budget savings of $46.8 million for the 2019-2020 school year.
According to a report that went before the TDSB on Wednesday, recommendations to save millions of dollars include staff reductions and cuts to programs.
The report outlines reductions to cutting 36 teaching jobs in the arts, music, health and physical education, science, math, ESL, French, and others.
Seven full-time-equivalent high school teacher positions will be eliminated due to the number of schools with smaller enrolments, the report reads.
The biggest reduction in terms of staff comes in the custodial staff section, which will see a reduction of 52 positions. The TDSB said it will implement “room closure” which means staff are expected to find surplus classrooms for closures.
WATCH: TDSB to make hundreds of job cuts for 2019-2020 school year
Librarians will also see 15 positions cut through attrition.
According to the report, TTC tokens for Grades 9 to 12 French Immersion students and students in gifted programs will be eliminated.
The changes to increased class sizes for secondary schools announced by the Ford government will also reduce costs for supply teachers.
The union representing TDSB workers, meanwhile, issued a statement Wednesday claiming that the actual number of cuts at the school board may be even higher than what is highlighted in the report.
Ontario’s education minster, Stephen Lecce, responded to the cuts Wednesday morning, telling reporters, “That board (TDSB) has faced structural deficits that precedes our government’s time.”
“When it comes to the educators themselves, and the support staff, we are still seeing recall of those workers overwhelmingly coming back,” said Lecce.
“In a couple weeks would be the right time to benchmark where we’re at, versus where we said we’d be, but I think we’re seeing teachers overwhelmingly being re-hired in boards that have maintained populations or growing populations.”
WATCH: Ontario education minister responds to the TDSB job cuts
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