In My Opinion: Provincial takeover of Toronto school boards will impact local students

By SARA EHRHARDT

TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEE FOR TORONTO-DANFORTH

September is almost here. Alongside preparing for the first week of school, I’m hearing people wondering what has happened with the provincial takeover of school boards, and what it means for our community.

On June 27, the provincial government placed both the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB)under ‘supervision’, using legislative powers to prevent locally elected school trustees like me from fulfilling the decision-making role for Toronto’s schools that we were democratically elected for.

But what does that really mean?

The news coming from Thames Valley District School Board should serve as a warning of what could be coming. The province took over that board in April of 2025. It was recently revealed that there would be over 100 staffing cuts, almost entirely to school-based staff: teachers, guidance counsellors, educational assistants, early childhood educators. Vague references to future property sales were released with no details.

If the same template is applied in Toronto, we are unlikely to hear about specific cuts until after decisions are made. I fear it would mean the loss of several hundred positions across Toronto schools. How on earth would each of our schools function with one or two fewer adult workers in their building?

Since being elected in 2022, I have supported provincial efforts to revise literacy curriculum, bring back cursive writing, and strengthen limits on cellphone use in schools. I have been very outspoken about chronic underfunding of education and what that means in our local schools.

The province has refused to fund the needed staffing levels to keep schools clean, safe, and functional. This includes not just teachers but also caretakers, vice principals, teaching assistants, mental health professionals, and special needs support staff, to name just a few.

I have also spoken up about the need for increased funding for the broad services that we know children need to thrive: smaller class sizes, child care, school nutrition, special education, languages, pools, libraries, music, the arts, outdoor education, public health.

When we think about what kids need in schools to thrive we also need to think about the conditions they live in. Several reports have documented the need for adequate resourcing for children and youth that touch across several provincial portfolios.

The November 2024 Report on Child and Family Poverty in Ontario revealed that over the pandemic, Ontario experienced the highest increases in child poverty rates ever recorded. Child poverty in Ontario increased by 3.5 per cent in 2022, the highest on record and the largest increase among Canadian provinces.

Other reports have noted increased deaths of children in provincial care, exclusion of children with special needs from schools, increased suicide rates amongst Ontario’s youth, declining achievement for students in core subjects, increased food insecurity for children, and widespread youth unemployment.

Alongside these reports are insights from Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office. They’ve made note of the shift away from funding children’s services and education in the overall provincial budget.

The Ontario Auditor General in December 2024 made specific recommendations for funding children’s mental health, and also noted that the province should work with the TDSB to address structural funding issues.

This broader picture should give pause to anyone who may be thinking that a change in school board governance will resolve all that is happening.

However much the government may wish to change the channel, we can’t let them keep shifting funds away from education and children’s services.

This government continually talks about protecting Ontario. But what about Ontario’s children and investing in their success? Because, really, who else would we be protecting Ontario for?

— Sara Ehrhardt maintains a community website at saraehrhardt.ca and can be reached at saratorontodanforth@gmail.com