Community Mandate for OVCO Leadership to Maintain and Expand Community Programming in the Former Vaughan Road Academy

With the support of more than 270 local residents in 2023 the Oakwood Vaughan Community Organization (OVCO) negotiated a two-year lease with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) to operate the OV Community Hub in surplus space in the former Vaughan Road Academy (VRA). In August 2025, that lease was extended for a one-year term to September 2026. 

Since September 2023, OVCO, as head leaseholder, and the Reena organization and Learning Enrichment Foundation (LEF), as Charter Community Hub members, have conducted programming in the OV Community Hub, demonstrating the value and benefit to the neighbourhood of access to space for community programming. Sharing space with the Hodgson Middle School has also proved beneficial in terms of inter-generational activity between the students and teachers and seniors in OVCO's Healthy Aging program. 

We are concerned, however, at the uncertainty of a longer-term lease beyond September 2026 and the TDSB’s lack of transparency on the future plans for the former VRA facility and grounds. As well, we are concerned about other constraints in the current lease terms that inhibit OVCO’s ability to expand community programming for children, youth and families in this highly under-used school space.

In this petition OVCO leadership asks for your support for our efforts to:

a)      Seek assurance from the TDSB and Toronto Lands Corporation (TLC) that the former VRA will remain a shared public space for public education and community programming;

b)      Secure a long-term lease beyond September 2026 for the continued operation of the OV Community Hub out of the former VRA;

c)      Discuss openly and constructively a range of options for maintaining the OV Community Hub in the former VRA; and

d)      Negotiate a lease with greater flexibility in the operating hours of the OV Community Hub so that more child, youth and family community programming can be provided.