The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) might cut its Learn4Life classes for adults next year due to budget concerns
The Finance, Budget, and Enrolment Committee (FBEC) will be meeting today and next week before the final decision on April 2 to vote on the budget.
TDSB is currently in a structural deficit of $20.8 million, according to a public report sent to FBEC.
“Some reasons for the structural deficit include the underfunding of statutory benefits, the TDSB teacher grid and replacement costs for sick leave and the inability to close underutilized schools,” the report said.
On Mar 4, FBEC had a special meeting discussing how TDSB had a 1.4 per cent deficit in the 2022-2023 academic year. As a solution, they developed a three-year recovery plan to achieve an $8.2 million surplus at the end of 2024-2025.
Making adjustments to the TDSB’s Continuing Education program is listed as one of the first options to reduce the board’s debt. It’s currently operating at a deficit of approximately $6.9 million, according to the report.
This includes eliminating the General Interest/Seniors’ Daytime Programs – also known as Learn4Life classes – which are available for anyone over the age of 18.
From tai chi and nature walks to English classes, Learn4Life has been providing affordable programs for adult communities for years.
It’s unknown the exact amount of money that will be saved, but the report proposes spending will be reduced by $4.1 million if the courses are cut.
Other reductions in the school district’s budget include putting a stop to weekend Grade 6 field trips to Scarborough Outdoor Education School at Camp Kearney, which has been happening for the last 18 years.
These major budget changes aim to help with covering a projected cost of $6.8 million to hire more vice principals, social workers, and youth counselors, according to the public report.
Toronto residents have been responding on social media about the proposed budget cuts.
Some are advocating for the value of Learn4Life’s long running, affordable adult programs.
“I really want people to understand what this program has to offer – this is such an incredible resource that’s about to get cut. There’s a HUGE variety of classes, including (but not limited to): Pottery, Sewing, Cooking, Baking, Dance, Acting, Visual Arts, Personal Finance, Coding, Photography, Film, Mechanics, Jewelry Crafting, and Language Learning (French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Greek, Italian, Korean),” a Reddit user said.
“Programs like this help to provide job training, like how to use Microsoft Office, which I’m sure is quite valuable to someone who moved here for the first time and needs a job,” another person said.
Although removing Learn4Life programming is upsetting for Torontonians, TDSB says the voting process has been accessible for the the public to view.
“The budget process has been promoted for a number of months now and [has] been promoted through social media, the website and parent newsletters so we have been very transparent with the process,” TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird told Now Toronto.
However, some Canadians on social media feel there hasn’t been enough information about why Learn4Life might be going away.
“Losing this learning resource as a whole would be devastating. Once it’s gone, it won’t be coming back. I think it is very sneaky that they announced this on March break when classes were not in attendance,” one person said.
“We welcome members of the public to bring forward issues and concerns they have through a delegation (addressing a committee of the Board of Trustees by speaking or submitting a written statement),” TDSB mentioned on its website.
People can call, email, or send a letter about their opinions on the proposed budget changes to their local trustee by Mar. 25 at 12 p.m.
