THE OLD GUARDIAN | TDSB INVESTIGATION SERIES
PART 1: DISMANTLING THE BOARD
"In the past, the board, even when under supervision, held open door meetings. Now, trustees are dismissed. We’re warned not to speak to the public or staff." — Trustee Michelle Aarts
SECTION 1: DEMOCRACY ON MUTE
The Toronto District School Board is currently being overseen by a Ministry-appointed supervisor who, by all internal accounts, is operating behind closed doors. Trustees say they are sidelined, warned against engaging with parents or even TDSB staff. Public meetings have disappeared. Transparency has withered.
But don’t mistake this for fiscal rescue. According to Trustee Michelle Aarts (Ward 16), what’s unfolding is not a budgetary solution—it’s a political maneuver that threatens both educational quality and democratic accountability.
SECTION 2: MINISTRY-CREATED DEFICITS
Contrary to the narrative of runaway trustee spending, many of the TDSB’s financial problems stem from how the Ministry of Education allocates money.
Take staffing, for example. The Ministry funds roles based on teacher salary equivalents — not the actual wages of specialized staff like librarians or educational assistants.
"If the Ministry allocates funding for 200 positions, it’s based on the provincial teacher salary grid. But if you're hiring librarians, whose pay is higher, that money only covers around 180 librarians." — Aarts
The same problem applies to Early Childhood Educators, Special Education, and even maintenance and mental health staff. These shortfalls create structural deficits that compound year after year.
Even more egregious: statutory employer contributions like CPP and EI are not fully funded by the Ministry. The board is legally obligated to pay them—but receives no proportional offset. A budget destined to fall short.
Meanwhile, the Auditor General flagged that TDSB is operating with 10% fewer administrators than comparable boards, despite being the largest in Canada. Instead of resolving this gap, the Ministry blamed governance.
SECTION 3: DISCRETIONARY SPENDING — A RED HERRING?
Yes, there have been headlines about trustee travel, meals, and discretionary budgets. But the scrutiny often misses the broader issue: use-it-or-lose-it funding structures.
"Trustees are expected to do outreach, attend community forums, travel across wards, even grab food when meetings run until midnight. That $20 McDonald’s receipt gets scrutinized — while massive structural deficits go untouched." — Aarts
While some spending lines deserve public oversight, the real problem is a Ministry-created trap: if a budget line isn’t fully used, it risks being slashed the next year. This creates a perverse incentive to exhaust funds regardless of need.
SECTION 4: TWO-TIERED EDUCATION, BY DESIGN
Aarts paints a clear picture of systemic inequity. Some schools thrive—thanks to legacy investments, strong parent councils, and political favour. Others, especially smaller or undersized high schools, fall behind.
"Ideally, every high school should offer robust, diverse programming locally. Parents shouldn’t have to send their kids across the city to access specialized options like STEM or arts. But right now, that’s exactly what’s happening." — Aarts
And the Ministry isn't just refusing to fix this; it's entrenching it. Instead of funding a citywide standard, it responds to enrollment gaps by further consolidating control.
SECTION 5: THE SCHOOL CLOSURE MORATORIUM — POLITICS OVER PRACTICALITY
In 2018, the Ford government introduced a moratorium on school closures as a campaign promise to rural voters. That moratorium has never been lifted.
At the TDSB, it means that 110 secondary schools are operating in a system that only needs 80-85. Schools with under 400 students can’t offer the full breadth of programming, and families seek alternatives. Yet the board is legally prohibited from right-sizing the system.
"It’s costing tens of millions. We can't repurpose underused high schools into elementary schools, we can't close or consolidate, and we can't build new ones. The moratorium blocks all of it." — Aarts
This isn't just a logistical bottleneck — it's sabotage.
SECTION 6: WHAT COMES NEXT
Trustee Aarts has agreed to go on record. Other trustees and board staff have not. Some are afraid. Others are constrained.
But what is clear: public education in Toronto is being reshaped behind closed doors.
Future segments will include:
Trustee-by-trustee attendance and voting records
Ward-level FCI maps (school condition vs socioeconomics)
Equity policy vs. actual student outcome gaps
Financial modelling of structural deficits
Internal documents and whistleblower accounts
We're not here to defend the status quo. We're here to expose the sabotage.
You deserve to know who broke the system.
Stay tuned.
[Source Links:]
Additional documentation on unfunded mandates and structural shortfalls available upon request.
What started as a quiet “supervision order” turned out to be something far larger — a test case in how democracy can be quietly suspended.
→ Read Part 2: The Silencing of the Boards.
Not Canada too? 😢