TDSB memo shows students will see and feel cuts when they go back to school

TORONTO – An updated memo prepared by the Toronto District School Board shows that students in Toronto will feel the consequences of the first year of Doug Ford’s education cuts when they return to school next week.

“Next week, students will go back to school to find Doug Ford has taken away guidance counsellors, music instructors and custodial staff. They are losing caring adult guidance, losing course options, and even losing rooms — they’ll go back to school next week to find classrooms shuttered and padlocked,” said NDP Education critic Marit Stiles.

“While the full extent of lost positions are still being determined, there’s one certainty: kids will be returning to schools with fewer resources and less support.”

Last week, Minister of Education Stephen Lecce tried to spin the impact of cuts on classrooms, calling concerns “exaggerated,” but confirmed that this September is the first of four years of cuts that will see thousands of teacher and education worker jobs cut.

“We need to be opening more doors of opportunity for our students, not closing them in their faces,” said Stiles.