The Battle Continues

saveouraltschools
May 14, 2021
2 min read

The May 12 meeting of the Toronto District School Board’s Finance, Budget and Enrolment Committee didn’t end with resounding support for our alternative secondary schools. But our fight is not over.

The full board will meet on May 26 to discuss, among other things, motions made at the committee meeting — meaning we still have time to change minds!

One of the major objections raised by committee members over locking in funds for secondary alt schools was a concern that “students at regular schools don’t get the same support as those at alternative schools.”

Let that sink in for a minute.

Students who are struggling at regular TDSB secondary schools don’t have access to the resources, accommodation, and support that alternative school students have — and the takeaway from that is that the TDSB should CUT funding, instead of increasing it further?

The idea is positively absurd. And trustees need to be told that it is.

To that end, we’re asking all our supporters to ramp up communications with TDSB trustees. Phone them, write to them, email them, tag them on social media and let them know that further cuts to alt school funding WHILE ACKNOWLEDGING THE NEED FOR WHAT THEY DO is ridiculous, offensive, and unacceptable.

Not sure what to say? Here are some tips:

Point out that cutting resources for alt school students just because “regular” school students don’t have the same resources does not solve anything. It just drags all schools down to the lowest common denominator.
Let them know that students at schools with just 2.5 teachers will not be safe. Regular TDSB schools have resources to deal with a student in crisis. Alt schools won’t have that ability if funding is cut.
The further loss of teachers at alt schools will force programming cuts. Our students won’t be able to have the same level of education as regular students — exacerbating the inequity many alt school students already face.
Finally, point out that students at regular schools who have the same issues as those in alt schools should BE ABLE TO ATTEND ALT SCHOOLS. We need more funding and more education about the resources available at TDSB alt schools, not less.
Ask them to respond to your concerns