Dear caregivers,
Quick update on my end - I resigned from PIAC last Wednesday morning (June 10th). I hope you'll welcome me back as an independent parent organizer with the Toronto Schools Caregiver Coalition. I've already been mobilizing with some parents independently around shoring up the city's Student Nutrition Program. Please reply if you have concerns or thoughts around that program at your school. I especially want to hear from you if your school's cafeteria is closing AND you also have students who rely on the SNP.
In the meantime, we turn to the TDSB budget, which is due to the Ministry at the end of the month.
According to reporting by Tina Yazdani, Minister Calandra stated in his June 2nd press conference that “One of the things that we did say to our supervisors was to look at the funding model. If there are shortcomings of the funding model, we want to know." He also said that "there [will be] a reimagining or redistributing of certain resources.”
The implication of his statement is that the redistribution would funnel MORE resources to the classroom. But we don't see evidence of that happening. In fact, the opposite is true. For example, despite the TDSB's claim that only central positions were cut, we saw community support worker (CSW) positions hacked away from model schools.
The budget presentation did provide an allocation for $6.6 million in additional curricular materials, but what those will be is currently undefined. Securing high-quality, physical learning materials for our children is my highest priority concern apart from funding issues and I want to organize our messaging around this through the summer - for example, expanding and standardizing the availablity of programs like EMPOWER and JUMP MATH.
In the meantime, we turn to the TDSB budget, which is due to the Ministry at the end of the month.
At the budget presentation, the TDSB staff confirmed that even under supervision, they are not able to achieve a balanced budget this year. Could there be clearer evidence that the current funding formula is inadequate?? We cannot let the Ministry shirk accountability for this.
The call to action today and for the next two weeks is this:
1) Ask the CEO and the Supervisor to request more funding from the province specifically to reinstate community support workers, school cafeterias, outdoor education programs, daily custodial services, and anything else that you find deficient about school. Don't feel the need to laundry list all of them. Pick one or two that affect your school and describe what your child or school community is going through as a result of underfunding. Ask them to take the Minister up on his June 2nd offer, and secure us more funding to cover these unacceptable conditions.
2) Appeal to Doug Ford. Word on the street is that Ford and Calandra don't get along; let's fan that rivalry. If Calandra and his supervisors can't balance the budget, then ask Doug Ford step in and release enough funding so that they can. If you can stomach it, please lay it on thick - Calandra is clearly failing and we need Doug to save the day.
3) Log every issue with the Student and Family Support Office. PIAC has asked for the SFSO to record the nature of the calls and how they were resolved. Although we had only been getting high-level updates, more detailed info is something that can potentially be FOI'd. There is an opportunity to use the SFSOs to document the scale and scope of the deficiencies our kids are facing at school. Please DO NOT ask the SFSO's for more funding or make condemnations of the government. Please DO report issues like:
The classrooms that aren't being cleaned properly and are drawing mice;
The student with special needs who is experiencing a soft or hard exclusion from school due to inadequate staffing;
The classes that are being cancelled because there's no available supply teacher;
The schools that don't have enough books or online logins to serve the number of students in the class,
The lack of mental health support that is jeopardizing our children's lives
Please see below some guidelines to get you started. I know it's time consuming but it's important that you convey a personal message - cut and paste emails get immediately flushed. If you're short on time, consider making a phone call, instead.
#1 - Call / Email the CEO and the Supervisor
Telephone: 416-397-3000 - ask for their offices
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
bcc: [email protected]
RE: {your school name} + {issue}
Be polite and don't forget the niceties - welcome the new CEO; thank the supervisor for allowing the budget presentation on June 9th to take place. These are real people and they are more likely to respond or consider your argument if you present yourself civilly.
Sample language:
I know you are finalizing the budget and I wanted to make sure you were aware of {this pressing issue at my child's school}
I'm sure you can appreciate how unacceptable this is.
Minister Calandra said on June 2nd that he is willing to increase the funding formula, can you please ask him to do this urgently for next year?
Can you tell the Minister about this issue we are having and ask him if there's anything to ensure our school or board has the funding to fix it in time for the start of school in September?
#2 - Call / Email Premier Doug Ford
Telephone: (416) 745-2859
Use the official government contact page: Send the Premier a message
TRIGGER WARNING. I am proposing that we make an appeal to Doug's ego. It's okay to say things that you wouldn't normally say, with purpose...some may disagree but take what you will.
Sample language:
I believe in accountability and I was happy when Doug Ford took over schools, but I just learned that the supervisor isn't able to balance the TDSB's budget either. How can this be??
Doesn't this mean more funding is obviously needed?
Can you please direct Calandra to release more funding? Otherwise, Calandra will make you and the PCC government look really bad!
#3 - Email the Student and Family Support Office
Email: [email protected]
bcc: [email protected]
Tips:
Report the issue & be matter of fact - don't make accusations or demands about the budget - the SFSO isn't the right forum to make that complaint. Just make a request to have someone solve your direct issue about unmet student needs.
Ask for someone to follow up with you..
Thanks in advance for the advocacy that you do.
Sincerely,
Katrina