TDSB committee ponders big cuts to curtail $58M budget deficit

Swimming pools, music programming, outdoor education and student access to laptops could be cut at the Toronto District School Board as the board looks to dig itself out of a financial hole for the next academic year.

The board is facing a $58-million deficit for 2025-2026, and a report looking at options to balance the budget went to the TDSB's finance, budget and enrolment committee meeting on Wednesday.

Stacey Zucker, TDSB's associate director of modernization and strategic resource alignment, presented the report to the committee and said no decisions are being made yet. She said it's important to note that the board doesn't have its 2025-2026 core education funding yet. 

The committee will hold a special meeting on May 15, where there will be an update on core education funding. No final decisions are expected on the budget until closer to the end of June.

"These are options that are being put on the table," Zucker told the committee. 

According to the report, the options include:

Zucker administrative changes could result in savings as well. These include:

The total savings from all of the options presented would be $59.2 million, according to Zucker.

Zucker noted that the board has consulted the public about its budget process.

That consultation has included four budget town halls from April 10 to 23, one hybrid town hall with students on April 24, and nine hours worth of delegations on Tuesday in which 73 people spoke and 18 provided written submissions. Staff have also begun a budget survey that has elicited more than 14,000 responses.

The TDSB already pitched the province on a plan to save money in the fall that would have brought its deficit down to $11 million, but the province recently rejected that plan and said it would appoint a financial investigator to help the board save money.

The Ontario government has given the TDSB "multiple opportunities … to address its financial situation," Education Minister Paul Calandra's press secretary, Emma Testani, said in a statement to CBC Toronto.

"To date, the board has not produced a trustee-approved financial recovery plan to respond to concerns that identify strategies to eliminate their deficits," she said.

Testani's statement said the government is "prepared to take additional action to ensure all school boards are focused on delivering the high-quality education our students deserve."