Tell Ford: No Cuts to Schools
This Friday while students are off school and parents are busy with March Break, PC Education Minister Lisa Thompson is expected to sneak in a major announcement to cut public education at the expense of our students [1].
Ford and the Education Minister need to hear from you this week before their announcement Friday. Send your message today.
On February 28th, Doug Ford’s Conservative government sent a memo to all school boards [2], including the TDSB, directing a hiring freeze on teachers. This is the first step in ballooning class sizes and reducing one-on-one time for kids with their teachers.
We’ve been here before, and we know what could happen - bigger class sizes, fewer supports for students and a bare-bones learning environment for kids.
Your voice is needed - if thousands of us put pressure on our local MPPs to stand up to Ford, we could help stop more cuts before they happen.
We need MPPs to hear from their constituents this week - before the announcement is made - so the Conservative Government can rethink their plans to cut public education.
Use our form to send a message to your MPP, the Education Minister, and the Premier today and tell them we need investments in our public schools, not cuts to students and their futures.
Here’s What Ford Has Already Cut From Public Education:
Cut $100 million in funds for school repairs [3]
Cut $25 million in “EPO grants” that support our most vulnerable students through programs like Focus on Youth, tutors for struggling students and support for Indigenous students [4]
Cancelled development of new Indigenous curriculum [5]
Cut funding to support kids with autism [6]
Threatened the future of full-day kindergarten starting in 2020 [7]
Public schools are the foundation of our neighbourhoods and communities. Equitable access to publicly funded schools is also the cornerstone of fair, democratic and prosperous societies. In Ontario, we are fortunate to have one of the best school systems in the world. By investing in our schools we invest in our children, our communities and the future of our city.
Notes:
[1] https://efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca/faab/Memos/B2019/B06_EN.pdf
[2] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-ontario-school-boards-hiring-freeze-budget-1.5038662
[3] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontario-school-boards-shift-repair-plans-in-wake-of-funding-cuts/
[4] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-education-programs-funding-cuts-1.4948200
[5] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-education-truth-and-reconciliation-commission-trc-1.4739297
[6] https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/parents-angered-by-changes-to-ontario-autism-program-aimed-at-cutting-wait-list-1.4284855
[7] https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2019/01/29/ontario-commits-to-keep-full-day-kindergarten-in-place-for-the-next-school-year.html