Toronto District School Board - Controversies - Financial Issues

Financial Issues

In 2002, the Government of Ontario stripped all power and authority from the school board trustees because they failed to balance the board's budget. Paul Christie was appointed by the province to serve as supervisor of the Toronto District School Board, with authority for all financial and administrative functions of the Board. This allowed Christie to supersede the authority of elected school trustees. The provincial government argued that the appointment was necessary, as the TDSB had not submitted a budget to the Ontario Minister of Education as legally required. Representatives of the TDSB claimed that they could not find the necessary operating expenses for the year, given provincial regulations which prohibited deficit spending. Christie balanced the TDSB's budget through a dramatic spending reduction of $90 million. Under his watch, the TDSB eliminated many secretarial positions, phased out school-community advisors, reduced the number of vice-principals, cut outdoor education and adult education, and re-evaluated the position of social workers in the system. Christie's staff reports were not made public, and some critics argued that there were no adequate checks or balances on his authority.

Blackstone Partners carried out a review in 2006. They submitted a 113-page report in January 2007. Blackstone Partners were "asked to determine if the facilities division had "effective governance."" The report showed "high costs of repairs, lots of workers and spotty results, and managerial “silos” that made it hard for principals to figure out whom to approach to get a job done." Blackstone Partners gave 43 recommendations in the report. The school board claims a few have been carried out and others are in the works. When surveyed about a wide range of topics, the worst result was the school board’s maintenance and construction division. Eighty percent of principals didn't believe the maintenance and construction division delivered good value for the money TDSB director Chris Spence "To use a football analogy, we are trying to move the yardstick. There is no quick fix." The Toronto Star reported that in recent investigation showed little has changed since that review. A high school principal "raised questions about the $143 cost of installing a pencil sharpener and the $19,000 cost of installing a sign on the school’s front lawn."

In 2007, again due to alleged mismanagement by the trustees, the board will try to submit a budget with a deficit of $84 million.

The school board wants $3.6 million from the Toronto Star before it releases a database. The database shows "work orders showing what taxpayers have been charged for maintenance and construction projects at local schools." In June 2012, the Toronto Star asked for "an electronic copy showing three years of work at the TDSB." The Toronto Star stated that "the request was made under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act."

The Ontario Ministry of Education Froze funding for the school board's buildings project. The ministry cited the possibility of a $10 million to $11 million cost overrun for the retrofit of Nelson Mandela Park Public School. The project was originally priced at $21.7 million. Some of the school board's trustees are "outraged". Laurel Broten, Ontario's Minster of Education, stated, "We are not happy they don’t know why" when talking about the overrun. She also stated that a supervisor may be sent in.

The Maintenance and Construction Skilled Trades Council gets 0.5% on all outside contracts even though it does not perform the work. Several contractors have stated that "contractors sometimes inflate their price for school board work to pay Hazel’s group." Maintenance and Construction Skilled Trades Council are unable to do all the maintenance and construction work. TDSB spokesperson Shari Schwartz-Maltz said "the dues are considered a "temporary union membership." The TDSB does not charge the trades council rent for its offices on school board property. The school board's trustees want to stop paying the fee.