From the desk of Trustee Shelley Laskin, Ward 11
Organizational Board Meeting December 1, 2011
At our Organizational Board, Trustees acclaimed Chris Bolton (Ward 10, Trinity-Spadina) as Chair and elected Shaun Chen (Ward 21, Scarborough–Rouge River
City of Toronto Budget Recommendations
Unfortunately, it will be impossible for the TDSB to pick up the costs of the program and service reductions for our children and youth proposed by the City during their budget process. These include proposals to eliminate parks and recreation programming in Hillcrest and Brown and 10 other community centres; the cutting of permitting recreation swims at Hillcrest’s pool and 6 other school pools; elimination of childcare in schools rent subsidy which has the potential to increase childcare costs for parents; as well as proposed cuts to school nutrition programming which includes Davisville. Both our local councillors are holding community consultation sessions. Please consider attending.
- Hold December 13th for Councillor Joe Mihevc’s (Ward 21) Budget Session (details to follow)
- Hold January 11th for Councillor Josh Matlow’s (Ward 22) Budget Session at
North Toronto Memorial Community Centre at 7pm
The City will vote on its 2012 budget in January. Unlike the City, the board does not have the ability to raise taxes… 95% of the Board’s budget comes through provincial grants and 85% of the boards budget is tied up with salaries.
The balanced budget plan for 2011-2012 included specific one-time savings and measures - essentially short-term solutions that are not ongoing and/or sustainable. The budget was balanced by using $30 million of major renewal and capital project funding to cover the cost of smaller building maintenance projects. In order to maintain our current level of programs and services in 2012-13, TDSB is projecting a serious budget shortfall. We are just beginning our own budget deliberations… more to come shortly.
Full-Day Kindergarten – City of Toronto
The Toronto Children’s Services staff report on Transitional Issues Impacting Toronto’s Child Care System and Recommended Actions for Mitigation was presented at the City’s Community Development and Recreation Committee on 4 November 2011 and recommendations stemming from the report will be going to City Council meeting on 29 November 2011. Children's Services has completed an extensive analysis that, among other things, forecasts service levels and the availability of child care spaces by age group at the time of full implementation of FDELK in 2014. Overall, the analysis shows an expected decrease in the supply of child care spaces for Junior Kindergarten (JK) and Senior Kindergarten (SK) children in child care as 4 and 5 year olds enrol in FDELK and a corresponding interest by operators in converting these vacated spaces into care for younger infants and toddlers.
A summary of the committee’s recommendations being brought forward to City Council include:
- City Council to communicate with the
Province ofOntario - City Council to reaffirm the city’s request the
Province ofOntario - Toronto Children’s Services to organize various opportunities for City Councillors and City staff to provide information and discuss relevant issues with child care providers, MPPs, Ministry staff, Toronto School Board Trustees, and School Board staff.
For more information, click on
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Save the Dates…
Winter Break: December 26, 2011 to January 6, 2012 inclusive (last day of school is December 23, 2011;
school resumes January 9, 2012)
Visit the anniversary website to register www.nt100th.ca
McMurrich Jr Public School 100th Anniversary – May 12, 2012
From 1-5pm at the school on 115 Winona Dr ; e-mail McMurrich@tdsb.on.ca for more information
French as a Second Language Program Deadlines
Applications for entry to Grade 4 Middle French Immersion and Junior Extended French programs for September 2012 will be accepted on-line at www.tdsb.on.ca/pars. The deadline for applications is December 15, 2011. Application packages for Early French Immersion Programs (Senior Kindergarten) will be sent directly to the Early French Immersion schools in January. Some schools will be accepting applications for Early French Immersion programs on-line. For information regarding your eligibility for the on-line process, please contact www.tdsb.on.ca/pars. Please note that the deadline for Early French Immersion program applications for September 2012 is January 31, 2012. Parents will be notified of placement either on-line or by the French Immersion school. Applications for Intermediate Extended French (Grade 7) can be completed and sent directly to the Grade 7 Extended French program school. Please note that the deadline for Grade 7-entry Extended French program applications for September 2012 is January 31, 2012. Parents will be notified of placement by the Extended French school.
Parent Involvement and Ministry Consultation
The TDSB’s Parent Involvement Advisory Committee puts out a monthly newsletter with news for parents and school councils. Thanks to our rep Carmit Finer-Toren and alternate Margaret Proctor. Here is the link to the November edition: http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=b0878df6277125cdd4bdaf317&id=e29e428890&e=6a3066f2ab
City Parks Plan Consultation
The City is seeking input on the use of parks in Toronto
Imagine . . . We are 7 Billion
You might be interesting in this video the Ontario Science Centre put together to mark the world’s population reaching 7 billion people this month: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DPSg8wqd14&feature=channel_video_title&utm_source=mailoutinteractive&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Ontario+Science+Centre+Members%27+News
