"Two Rs Come September"

The kids have finally gone back to school. Summer seems like it could go on forever, then BAM, it's September already. At least Christmas and Thanksgiving are around the corner.

Now, down to business. It looks like the 2006/2007 school year is not going to be without conflict, which is nothing new. This time we have school boards whining for a change. They must alternate with the teachers every other year.
The Toronto District School Board has been leading the complaints this year. I don't have the exact data in front of me, but I believe they are $80 million in the red. The TDSB has refused to balance its budget forcing the province to investigate them. The TDSB claims the old 1998 funding formula is no longer enough for a 2006 education system, due to rising energy costs, and other unforseen expenses. The people in Toronto are only a case study for the growing problem of fiscal mismanagement in today's education system. They are guilty of the sort of things that would get somebody working in the private sector fired. Of course, it's always easier to spend someone else's money.

The TDSB now needs to find a way to cut $80 million from it's budget. However, they don't want to cut anything. Too bad as running up huge debts only makes things worse for students in the long run. Throwing more money at the problem isn't the answer either. The province already tried that by giving them some $200 million, which apparently wasn't enough. What people choose to ignore is that the TDSB's operating costs should indeed be going down as enrollment is declining. They also sit on a huge pool of assets that are being underused, if used at all.

A few years back, the TDSB closed several schools. The problem is, they are still holding onto them, and still paying expenses on them. These schools will continue to go unused for the forseeable future due to the province's aging population. Why then, do they insist on keeping them. Many of these schools have degraded into eyesores with weeds so tall in the playground they resemble wild jungles. With a lack of commercial space in the GTA, the properties would likely sell very quickly. Schools can easily be converted to office space and the playgrounds in the back could add some much needed greenery. It's seems insane for an organization to hang onto something so useless, that's costing so much to upkeep. (yep, there's a teacher joke in there too) The TDSB also has assets that it has no business owning, such as pools. These should be sold to the city. School boards are not in the business of parks and rec either. Though the board claims assets can only be sold once, they forget about the money they're saving by not having to pay upkeep expenses.

Then there is the issue of over-employment. The schools have more teachers, lunchrooms supervisors, and assistants than you can shake a yard stick at, even though they like to tell people otherwise. All this hiring was done to keep class sizes under 30 kids. Studies have shown that lower student/teacher ratios do not necessarily mean a better education, only less work for teachers. In post secondary education, classes can be 10 times (or more) bigger than those in public schools, with student/teacher ratios usually being 100:1. People who attended school from about 1950-1970 typically had classes of 40 or more students due to the baby boom, yet did not suffer. Much of the focus on education recently has been in fact lowering workload for teachers, rather than improving the quality of education for students. Teachers typically work only 30-40 hours a week, including marking time, which is no more than anybody else does. Not to mention they only work about 42 weeks a year. Their pay rate is roughly between $40-60/hour, which is equivilant to that of a skilled tradesperson or small business owner. My estimates on teacher pay are actually four years out of date, under the Conservative government. Teachers make about 5-10% more annually today. I conservatively estimate 70-80% of current education funding goes to pay for teacher salaries and benefits.
Class sizes should be capped at a more practical 40 students. There should be a teacher hiring freeze, and any wage increases should equal the rate of inflation except in the case of promotions.
Then there is the large number of unionized support staff, such as teaching assistants and lunchroom supervisions that demand premium cash for what should be a minimum wage job. Quite frankly, these people serve little use. Back when I was little, they had hall monitors, older students or parent volunteers who did what these supervisors are getting paid for today. Schools also do not need to hire these so called Teachers' Aids. They can get these as volunteers or co-op students from teacher's colleges. It's sad to lay any working person off, but you can't keep somebody on when you simply can't afford to keep them. Lunch room supervirsors and Teacher's Aids need to go.

There are also several programs that can also go. Breakfast and lunch clubs are a total waste of tax payer cash. I find if difficult to believe that there are that many kids in Toronto that go hungry because they are too poor to afford a slice of toast in the morning. Some of these programs even exist in afluent areas! Parenting courses should also be given the boot. If you don't have the instincts necessary to raise a child, wear a condom. If these problems are so rampant, they should be taken over by the city instead, or be administered by the Ministry of Health.

Now for the board itself. The TDSB recently voted to give trustees a $20,000 raise. Most corporate CEOs are lucky to get that much in one go. This raise added over $400,000 to the $80 million deficit. Trustee wages should be equal to the rate of inflation and for cost of living only. Being an elected official is not a job for life anyway. Trustees should be limited to a maximum of two or three terms in office. This gives them plenty of time to achieve goals. Parents also need more say at school board meetings. After all, they should have a say on what's to be done with their money. People also need to start voting in municipal elections.
I'm sure we can also find ways to cut a lot of bureaucratic waste within the TDSB as well. Government offices also suffer from over-staffing and uncessessary expenses.

It's not impossible for school boards to balance budgets. In fact, even with this "dreadful" Mike Harris funding formula, there is plenty of money to go around. It all boils down to gross mismanagement at the hands of school board trustees and administrators. Only parents can take action against them. Watch this issue closely and send a strong message to these trustees come November. Anybody who doesn't vote in municipal elections is a moron, as they will have the most direct effect on you and your family.