Toronto District School Board says nearly 300 teaching jobs will be cut in the fall
The toronto district school board says it is preparing for roughly 289 fewer teaching positions this September, citing declining enrolment and staffing changes still underway. The board says the number is far below the more than 600 teaching jobs unions say could be lost next school year. The debate is now centering on how deep the cuts will go and what they will mean for students, families, and school communities across Toronto.
TDSB says staffing plan reflects falling enrolment
Ryan Bird, a spokesperson for the Toronto District School Board, said every spring the board reviews its staffing needs for the upcoming year. provided on Tuesday afternoon, he said the process is meant to make sure schools have the staff needed to support students.
Bird said the board is anticipating nearly 5, 000 fewer students in the new school year. Based on that decline, he said the toronto district school board expects “approximately 289 fewer teaching positions. ” He also said the number is not final because staffing can still change before the school year begins.
The board’s position directly conflicts with the union-backed claim that cuts will be much larger. The toronto district school board says the gap reflects different ways of counting staffing needs and whether some positions were already unfilled in previous years.
Unions warn the impact will be felt in classrooms
On Tuesday, the Elementary Teachers of Toronto said numbers released through the board show 607 teaching staff could be cut. The local, which represents more than 11, 000 elementary teachers employed by the toronto district school board, said the proposal includes 483. 5 elementary teaching positions, 145 elementary teachers in Model Schools, 72 ESL teachers, and nine teacher-librarians.
“This is a dismantling of essential supports that students rely on every day, ” Helen Victoros, president of Elementary Teachers of Toronto, said in the release. She said the scale of the cuts will be felt in every classroom and in every community across Toronto, with the hardest impact in schools where students already face systemic barriers.
Michelle Teixeira, president of the OSSTF Toronto Teacher Bargaining Unit, said fewer staff means fewer adults in buildings and larger class sizes. “We know that the more adults in a building, the better outcomes of success for students, ” she said.
Provincial oversight adds to the tension
The unions have tied the staffing fight to provincial decisions. Elementary Teachers of Toronto said the staffing information was provided later than usual and said decisions are now being driven under the direction of Education Minister Paul Calandra and the provincial government.
provided Tuesday, Calandra pointed to declining enrolment as a key factor in the reductions. He also said positions identified beyond that figure were not filled in earlier years because of falling student numbers, and he said the reductions do not include teachers currently working in classrooms.
What comes next for the Toronto District School Board
The toronto district school board says the staffing picture remains fluid until the school year begins, leaving room for changes before September. For now, the dispute is over the size of the cuts and which jobs will disappear.
The unions say the proposed cuts will reduce classroom supports and widen pressure on schools already stretched thin. The toronto district school board, meanwhile, says it is responding to a shrinking student population and trying to align staffing with current enrollment needs.
