Ontario boards want Ford government to end ban on closing, merging schools

School boards across Ontario are asking Premier Doug Ford's government to lift a moratorium that has barred them from merging or closing schools for nearly six years. 

The association representing 31 English-language public school boards with more than 1.3 million students is calling for an end to the ban on school closures brought in by the previous Liberal government of then-premier Kathleen Wynne. 

"We believe this isn't fiscally responsible if you have a school that should have 600 kids in it, and it has 100 kids in it," said Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards Association. 

The Liberals brought in the moratorium in 2017 after facing political heat over local boards deciding to close schools with low enrolment and move their students to a new location. There are more than 4,800 schools in Ontario. In 2016-17, just before the moratorium went into place, boards decided to close 19 schools.

"I don't believe it was ever intended to last for six years," said Abraham. "As a result of it going on for so long, all of the problems that we had in 2017 with low-enrolment schools have only been exacerbated." 

Shifting demographics mean that schools in certain locations see enrolment dwindle, so trustees frequently face decisions about closures and mergers. 

"We need an opportunity to have those conversations," said Abraham. "This is our role as the locally elected school board trustees." 

Ford's Progressive Conservative government is showing no signs that it's prepared to reopen the door to school closures.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce declined CBC's request for an interview on the topic. Lecce's press secretary, Grace Lee, provided a statement that did not directly address the school board association's call for ending the moratorium.

"We are not closing schools," said the email. "Our government is delivering $14 billion to upgrade existing schools and build new state-of-the-art schools across Ontario with a focus on STEM learning, improved accessibility, and technology." 

The school closure issue doesn't just affect small towns and rural areas.

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) had named 27 clusters of schools (10 at the secondary level and 17 elementary) that it wants to review for potential mergers because some are under capacity while others are over capacity. 

However, unless the government lifts the moratorium, the TDSB can't even start that process, says the board's chair, Rachel Chernos Lin. 

"We have shifting populations, and we end up having some schools that are underutilized and others that are bursting at the seams," said Chernos Lin in an interview. "We need to be able to right-size those schools, and sometimes that means consolidating schools or school closure."