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March Update – Trustee Sara

I hope that it has been a good March break for everyone.

We are well into budget season for the TDSB. There is a structural deficit brought on by provincial underfunding. Starting next week there will be meetings that discuss in more detail proposed cuts and increases to fees that could take place without provincial funding to fill the gaps. There are proposed changes to outdoor education, continuing education including Learn4Life and International Language programs, and proposed fees for International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, among other things.

I do not support cuts and believe that increased provincial funding is needed for our schools. There is an opportunity for members of the public to present to the TDSB on March 26, I would encourage people to come and share views with the full board of trustees.

I will also be holding an in-person drop-in time the evening of Thursday, March 28 for anyone who would like to discuss the budget or other topics with me directly – please save this time and stay tuned for updates on location. The full board's first budget vote is Tuesday, April 2 and I wish to hear your views before that time. I am also happy to discuss other topics as time allows.

Take care,

Sara Ehrhardt
TDSB Trustee, Toronto-Danforth

Budget Advocacy

The link to all budget meeting dates and information is at https://www.tdsb.on.ca/budget.

Present to the TDSB – deadline to be considered to present at the March 26 meeting is noon on Monday, March 25. More information on registering is at delegating.

Send a message to the Ontario Government to adequately fund education – There is still time! See a sample message you can send here.

Board News

You can access agendas and minutes for all committee meetings once they are posted and information on delegating during committee meetings.

Boundary and program studies affecting our area: Thank you to those who have shared views with me on the ‘legacy technical and commercial boundary review’ – the recommendations stemming from this review are available as item 8.1 here.

We are expecting the final report and recommendations to be voted on by the full board in April.

Recommendations that directly relate to our area include:

Removing the current pre-amalgamation boundaries for Danforth CTI (and other legacy tech and commercial institutes) and open these schools to students city-wide starting Sept 1, 2025

- a 3 year transition plan for access for siblings and those who commit to taking tech courses has been proposed

Developing options that would allow for admissions restrictions to be lifted at Riverdale.
Developing a ‘collegiate boundary’ for Danforth CTI targeting a Sept 2026 start

- this means that some addresses currently assigned to Riverdale CI, Monarch Park CI or East York CI could be reassigned to a new Danforth CTI catchment. There are no additional details as to which addresses could be impacted at this time, and there would be public consultations before any decisions are taken.

- I believe a 2026 timeline is ambitious, and will be watching this very closely.

Beginning French programming at Danforth CTI as early as September 2025.

- I anticipate there will be public consultation on this proposal this coming May and will share more information as it becomes available.

If you wish to discuss any of these recommendations with me, I would encourage you to attend my drop in hours planned for the evening of Thursday, March 28, or reach out by email.

Recent Advocacy Motions: TDSB has been advocating to the provincial government in several areas including funding for building childcare spaces, school nutrition, and reducing respiratory viruses in schools. At our last meeting trustees also endorsed the Campaign to Ban Ads for Gambling. You can view all the advocacy letters the Board writes here.

Our Schools

I recently joined the Bruce school community on a night out to hear Bruce Lightning – a band composed of both Bruce school teachers and parents. It was such a memorable night, a sincere thank you to the Bruce school council organizers and to the band members!

A sincere thank you to Bruce Lightning and the Bruce School Council!

City School Boards Advisory Committee – I’m happy to share that Mayor Olivia Chow has rekindled the city school boards advisory committee. The first meeting was held March 4, 2024. You can find more information and watch the first meeting here.

Our Community

Ontario Line Transportation Meetings: Thank you to everyone who attended the recent Ontario Line Transportation meetings that I co-hosted with Councillor Fletcher – there was a lot to absorb! You can view the recording and presentation slides here if you missed the meeting.

The Agnes Macphail Award Ceremony is taking place Sunday March 24 at 2pm at the East York Civic Centre. This year’s award is honouring Susan Scandiffio, a long-time community volunteer.

Greek Heritage Month is underway, I look forward to seeing many in our community at the Independence Day Parade on April 7 on the Danforth! More information at greekcommunity.org.

Community Health Information

Dr Janine McReady from Michael Garron Hospital recently shared the following important information with east end school communities. Please get up to date with vaccinations and protect our community!

Staying up to date on routine vaccines, including measles vaccine

Due to a global resurgence of measles cases, I encourage you to check your and your family’s immunization status to ensure you are fully vaccinated against measles. This is especially important if you have plans to travel in the near future.

Measles is a very contagious viral infection. Symptoms are red rash, fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and feeling tired. It spreads through the air and close contact when a person infected with measles breathes, coughs, or sneezes. Learn more about measles, including what to do if you have symptoms.

The measles vaccine is available at your doctor’s office or at a Toronto Public Health community clinic for school-aged children. Students in Junior Kindergarten through to grade 12 can get the measles vaccine at these clinics. These clinics also offer vaccines that protect against mumps, rubella and other infectious diseases.

Updated COVID-19 vaccines and flu vaccines

We are still in the midst of respiratory illness season, and it is not too late to get vaccinated against both COVID-19 and the flu. Both of these vaccines continue to be available at your local pharmacy and doctor’s office.

The updated COVID-19 vaccine better protects against the new Omicron XBB variant. You can get the updated COVID-19 vaccine if you are aged six months and older and it has been at least six months since their last COVID-19 dose or infection (whichever is longer).

It is safe to get the COVID-19 vaccine and flu vaccine at the same time or around the same time. Learn more about where to get the COVID-19 vaccine and flu vaccine.

Reminder: Where to find and get care in East Toronto

For urgent, non-life-threatening health concerns

I encourage you to bookmark these pages so you can easily reference available health, social and community services in East Toronto:

For urgent, life-threatening health concerns

MGH Emergency Department, including the Child and Youth Emergency Zone

If you need to visit the Emergency Department, please come prepared: tehn.ca/EmergencyDepartment

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