On June 20, 2025, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) announced that it had entered into an agreement with the Toronto Scottish Rugby Football Club to replace LPCI’s natural sports field with an artificial turf facility. The deal will see $1,500,000 invested by the Club, matched by an investment by the TDSB. In order to accommodate the Club’s need for a larger field that meets the World Rugby standard for professional and international competition, the existing six-lane 400m running track will be eliminated. Furthermore, the deal will give the Club exclusive use of the field during evenings from Tuesdays to Thursdays, and all day on Saturdays. 

This is a terrible deal for students and members of the Lawrence Park community:

·       Track Removal Hurts Student Athletics: For competitions and training requiring a 400m track, the TDSB says that LPCI students will need to use facilities at John Polanyi CI or North Preparatory JPS. This is unacceptable for an accomplished and proud athletics program that dates back to the school’s founding in 1936. It places an undue burden on student athletes who will have to travel to and use another school’s facility and will overtime, erode LPCI’s competitiveness and team spirit. In addition, there are thousands of students from feeder /surrounding schools that rely on the track at LPCI for their physical education programs.

·       Privatization of Public Space: This deal effectively hands over a public field to a private sports organization during evenings and weekends. This raises serious equity issues and undermines the principle that public education spaces should prioritize students and the broader public good over external use.

·       Lack of Meaningful Consultation: Although the TDSB said the process included community letters of support in 2022, many stakeholders—particularly current students and parents—were unaware of and shocked by the trade-offs this agreement entails. A broader, more transparent consultation process is needed before moving forward. 

We, the undersigned, represent students, parents, guardians, school staff, school council members, and the Lawrence Park community at large, urge the TDSB to:

1.     Halt the finalization and implementation of its agreement with the Toronto Scottish Rugby Football Club.

2.     Re-evaluate the field design to retain a full six lane 400m running track suitable for student athletics.

3.     Prioritize open student and school access over external use during evenings and weekends.

4.     Adhere to the TDSB values of transparency, open communications and partnerships by fully consulting the broader LPCI community on alternatives that better reflect our needs and values.

5.     Consider the three alternate plans submitted to TDSB by community members that would provide a win-win solution whereby both the new field and a four to six lane 400m running track could be accomplished, without the need for excavation.