The TDSB Board of Trustees are currently considering making cuts to pool programming that will affect 8 Toronto elementary schools (Brown, Earl Beatty, Earl Grey, Frankland, Hillcrest, Market Lane, Queen Alexandra and Winona). See Globe & Mail article re swimming cuts

On March 30, the TDSB Board of Trustees voted to reduce the number of aquatics instructors in schools from 93 to 80 on the incorrect representation from TDSB staff that this would not impact services or programming to students.  Following the vote, staff realized they had made a mistake and cuts would have to be made.  However, instead of revealing this error to the Trustees, their solution was to unilaterally target 8 of 26 elementary schools and reduce their aquatic staff allocation to zero (using unassigned aquatics staff instead). This change will lead to:

• At least 50% less instructional aquatics education at these 8 schools
• Cancellation of swim teams and other extracurriculars that these staff support
• The displacement of long tenured staff   

The TDSB staff are implementing a model that the Board of Trustees did not vote for.  The TDSB staff made a mistake and now our students will have to pay for this mistake. 

We are deeply concerned that the TDSB failed to reveal their error and instead devised an unsustainable plan that will reduce aquatics programming and underuse valuable assets (pools) at these schools. It is alarming that the TDSB continues to make mistakes that negatively impact our students and it needs to stop.  Please sign and support our petition and request that the changes to aquatics programming be reversed.   

“We request that the School of Trustees reverse the allocation model for these 8 schools and maintain the same level of swim programming for 2023 and beyond."