In an effort to address a looming $23-million budget deficit, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) voted Wednesday to cut 150 educational assistants (EAs) and 36 teacher librarians from schools next year.The cuts, which will save $9.2 million, came after nearly four hours of heated discussion.
"We are facing hard economic times, but that is nothing compared to what is being faced by these communities," said Beaches-East York Trustee Sheila Cary-Meagher, who was opposed to all staffing cuts.
Trustee Cathy Dandy (Toronto-Danforth) also opposed the cuts, praising teacher-librarians as the "linchpin of schools."
"Research is absolutely conclusive that librarians perform a critical function in schools," she said. "We are all about not touching classrooms, but this has a direct impact on classroom learning."
While other trustees acknowledged the severity of the loss, they cited the need for a balanced budget in order to avoid provincial supervision.
"I'm not going to stand by and watch someone come in and kick the crap out of the board," said Trustee Sheila Ward (Toronto Centre-Rosedale), of the possibility of a provincial supervisor being given power to make choices for the board. "There are tough choices being made everywhere and we can't assume we're any different."
The board currently employs more than 600 EAs, with 35 funded by the province. EAs assisting in special education and French immersion classes are not included in the reductions, which will mostly focus on kindergarten EAs.
"Kids need to have as much of a one on one as possible," said Giselle Burton, vice president of CUPE Local 4400, which represents the EAs. "Study after study has shown that in early childhood education play-based learning is what creates a successful child. That extra adult to encourage them is always helpful."
Given that over 80 per cent of the board's budget comes from staffing, board chair John Campbell said the cuts were the best option for a balanced budget.
"There are very few places we can make reductions. No other board in the province employs this many education assistants, if we don't vote for staffing reductions we're going to have our backs against the wall."
The recommendations for cuts were based on declining enrolment and provincial caps on class size, which reduce the need for extra adult supervision in classrooms.
Staff had originally asked the board to also cut over 55 elementary teachers by raising class sizes to 20 pupils from the current 19 in schools that serve the city's most impoverished communities. Although staff approved increasing class sizes, they saved 51 teachers by designating them "profile teachers," which means they will go into a pool of teachers assigned according to need.
The board also voted to lay off 21 aquatics instructors in accordance with a previous board resolution that will see most school pools closed in June.