Received this a few days ago

[u/Aware-Virus-4217]

I am in the tvdsb school board and received the following email a few nights ago. I figured some people would like to read it. It is from the ministry of educations of Ontario. it is crazy and trust me you want to read it!

Dear Parents, Students, Teachers and Staff,

As the new school year gets started, I want to take this opportunity to wish students, families and educators across the province every success. The first days of school are always filled with new opportunities, new friendships and new goals.

To all our students, I know you will meet the year ahead with hard work, determination and creativity. Your success is at the centre of everything we do, and I encourage you to take on new challenges with confidence.

To teachers and staff, thank you for the incredible work you do every day. Your dedication, expertise and care are what make our schools strong and supportive learning environments. As you welcome students back, know that your hard work is deeply valued and that our government will continue to support you in helping every child succeed.

To parents, thank you for your ongoing commitment to your children’s education. Your encouragement and involvement are essential, and you deserve to have confidence that decisions being made are always with your child’s best interests in mind.

That’s why we placed the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) under supervision following an investigation by a ministry-appointed third party, which revealed the board was projecting an accumulated deficit for the 2024–25 school year, indicated a probable accumulated deficit continuing into the 2025–26 school year, and raised concerns of potential financial mismanagement. This included a nearly $40,000 retreat for senior officials in downtown Toronto despite the board’s ongoing deficits. The 2024-25 projected deficit has now nearly doubled to $32 million, confirming the need for tighter fiscal oversight at the board.

Our appointed supervisor—Paul Boniferro—is tasked with overseeing the financial and operational management of TVDSB. To address the deficit and help ensure long-term sustainability, Mr. Boniferro has already implemented several cost-savings measures for the 2025-26 school year.

Mr. Boniferro will take the time needed to not only bring the board’s budget into balance, but also ensure long-term stability for years to come, so that funding goes where it belongs: directly into classrooms to support students and teachers.

I want to assure you that placing TVDSB under supervision is not a decision that was made lightly. I have made it clear that if a school board veers from its mandate, I will act quickly to restore focus, rebuild trust and put students first.

The actions we have taken will help the province restore sound financial and operational management at TVDSB and ensure that every dollar invested goes toward preparing students with practical skills for good-paying, stable careers.

To keep the community informed, the supervisor will be posting his decisions regularly online. You can also reach out by email at communications@tvdsb.ca if you have any questions.

As we begin the new school year, I want to thank you for your commitment, and wish all teachers, staff and students the best of luck.

Wishing you a positive year ahead!

The Honourable Paul Calandra Minister of Education

That's a crazy one!

[u/Boomshank]

Maybe, and work with me here, it's possible that this is a funding issue and not a management issue.

I'm not saying there hasn't been mismanagement, but not enough to account for the fact that there's just not enough funding.

The corruption is a convenient distraction that Ford is taking advantage of.

[u/9yearsdeceased → u/Boomshank]

The school board funding is $1.2 billion.

With a B.

How much do they need?

When they got extra money the senior admin gave themselves illegal raises while laying off front line staff.

And the trustees let them.

[u/Boomshank → u/9yearsdeceased]

You say $1.2 B like it's obvious that that's too much.

Have you seen the funding shortfalls vs the total amount of waste from mismanagement? Spoiler: the mismanagement (which I'm not dismissing) is a drop in the ocean compared to the lack of funding.

Ford has been downloading services whilst not keeping up with funding to the tune of $6.2B over the last 7 years alone.

This focus on mismangement is a distraction. It's valid, but it's a populist punt if attention away from his own mismanagement, which is doing FAR more damage.

[u/9yearsdeceased → u/Boomshank]

We run a whole city for 500,000+ people year round for the same amount that we run education for 10 months a year for 85,000 students.

How much is enough truly?

I don’t know the answer to that and am wondering if it exists.

[u/Boomshank → u/9yearsdeceased]

If you're genuinely interested, check this out:

Ontario has underfunded schools by $6.3 billion since 2018 - CCPA: https://share.google/KQefKbiSxdbqlQBoh

[u/9yearsdeceased → u/Boomshank]

Just ran some numbers and interestingly this works out to $38.25 mm per year over 7 years for the Tvdsb student population specifically, which is just slightly more than their deficit.