School
sales in general CANNOT solve the deficit the TDSB is experiencing
year after year, because:
1) The
amount of money made on a school sale ($ 5 – 10 million) is
negligible compared to repairs and maintenance backlog the TDSB has
accumulated (3.5 billion). Simple calculations demonstrate that even
selling ALL 20 closed down schools in Toronto (at 5 million each) can
make up for about 3% (!!!) of the backlog. Even doubling the price
will yield up to 6% of what is needed.
Such
approach to profit generation is similar to burning furniture to heat
the house – a huge waste of tax-payer's money no responsible
government should even consider.
2)
The Ministry of Education claims that a significant number of Toronto
schools are 'half-empty', but the formulas for calculating school's
capacity and actual enrollment are questionable. Those formulas
require 'every single room of the school to be full of students at
any given part of a school day', which ignores the nature of
educational activities and necessary facilities (music room, gym,
shop, cafeteria, assembly hall, ESL class, etc., etc.). Furthermore,
schools used as childcare centres or adult education sites are
considered 'empty'.
Results
of such 'calculations' are used to manipulate public opinion into
believing that many Toronto schools are 'surplus to the needs of the
Board'.
3)
Sales of school properties from decades ago led to disastrous lack of
school space today. Just one example: Yonge & Finch neighbourhood
lost Edithvale PS. Even though there is a community centre today, it
does not compensate, and never will, for thousands of students being
bussed every day out of their neighbourhood. Due to the short-sighted
vision, the TDSB disposed of the 'surplus property' and lost any
chance to adequately address the need for school space in the booming
area today and in the future.
4)
The Ministry and the Board must acknowledge that Toronto's school
population is growing and is bound to grow, and 'surplus properties'
will be in desperate need in the future. Disposing of them may appear
to ease the difficult task of balancing the books before the next
provincial elections, but it is robbing us of possibilities for
quality education for all in the more distant future.
5) Even
if a property is acquired by another public agency, the necessity to
buy it at its 'fair market value' in Toronto requires a significant
amount of money that will have to be taken from our tax-payers'
pockets again, not to mention the cost of the sale itself
(appraisals, legal fees, etc.)
The
sale of McNicoll Ave PS in Willowdale would be an irresponsible
disposal of the TDSB's public assets because:
1)
McNicoll Ave PS fully recovers its operational cost through rent
payments made by the current tenants - a childcare centre and a
children's mental health centre, among others.
2) Funders
of the current tenants the City of Toronto and the Ministry of Health
and Long-Term Care - have invested heavily into upgrading the
building and the site (about 4.5 million in the last few years), thus
the value of the property has significantly increased, so the TDSB
has actually increased it capital assets without investing any
capital funding.
3)
Services offered by the current tenants are of direct and obvious
value to the Board itself.
4)
The thriving community, the Board, and Ontario public education
system can not afford to lose one of the very few public spaces in
the area in exchange for a few millions of dollars that evaporate
into thin air considering the scale of the TDSB budget and its
maintenance backlog.
There
are many other arguments each of us can add to the list, and
communicating them to our MPPs, ALL trustees, and the Ministry of
Education is a crucial step to ensure we do not lose the valuable
community asset. It is the time for us to send another e-mail or make
a phone call, two, or three to remind our representatives at all
levels of government that school buildings must be seen as
opportunities rather than disposable liabilities.
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