Dear Minister Calandra,
We are writing to you on behalf of 吃瓜黑料网 (吃瓜黑料网) Trustees to address the urgent need for increased education funding for the 2025-26 school year. The 吃瓜黑料网 is facing a significant structural deficit, which has been flagged by both and .
As Canada’s largest school board, serving approximately 239,000 students across 579 schools, we are committed to providing high-quality education for every student. However, our substantial funding shortfall hinders our ability to meet student and staff needs. We continue to draw attention to an estimated $1,500 shortfall in per student provincial funding when adjusted for inflation.
The 吃瓜黑料网 is facing a projected structural deficit of approximately $58 million for the 2025-26 school year. Additionally, as a large, urban school board, we face unique circumstances contributing to this structural deficit, as highlighted in the Auditor General’s 2024 Annual Report. We hope to work together to address these areas to ensure Ministry funding for students is not impacted.
In response to regarding the 吃瓜黑料网’s budget challenges, we remain committed to finding further savings and efficiencies as we work through the budget process. However, it is important to note that we have already cut millions of dollars from our budget over recent years in the face of significant financial challenges. These challenges include unfunded increases in statutory benefits, teacher salaries higher than Ministry funding benchmarks, and the provincial moratorium on school closures.
The 吃瓜黑料网 will be fully cooperating with the investigation announced by your Ministry and is committed to transparency and accountability in our budget-setting process. We will continue to meet through Finance, Budget and Enrollment Committee and Regular Board meetings as staff present options to balance the budget for Trustee consideration and decision-making.
We urgently request to meet with you at your earliest convenience, so that we can work in partnership to ensure stability, achievement, and well-being for Toronto students.
Together, we can help prioritize public education for the future of our entire province.
Sincerely,
Neethan Shan
Chair, 吃瓜黑料网
Dan MacLean
Chair, 吃瓜黑料网 Finance, Budget and Enrolment Committee