Closing and selling Willowdale schools being considered

The future of several Willowdale schools lies in the hands of the Toronto District School Board, as the board has put forth a proposal to possibly close and sell some of them.

While it’s still in the early consultation stage, the TDSB’s new land-for-programs strategy is a plan that could result in the sale of millions of dollars worth of board real estate, including schools.

The money from the sale of those surplus schools would go toward raising much-needed funds for new facilities and programs through the next decade. Proceeds would be used to consolidate the remaining schools into larger, better-equipped buildings, Ward 12 trustee Mari Rutka said on Feb. 21.

Since last fall the board has been consulting with parents to find out their opinions. They will continue with the consultation process at least until spring, she said. Rutka added that she expects the board to come back with a report on how to do the entire consultation process by then.

The board is looking at 32 school properties in Willowdale.

While Rutka wouldn’t confirm which schools, reports have indicated that the board is looking into possibly consolidating 15 Willowdale schools: Lillian Public School with Cummer Valley Middle School, Pleasant Public School with Fisherville Junior High School, Arbor Glen Public School with Highland Junior High School, Churchill Public School with Willowdale Middle School, Elkhorn Public School with Bayview Middle School, Pineway Public School with Zion Heights Junior High School and Finch Public School with Hollywood and McKee public schools.

“I really don’t want to say those schools because I don’t know,” Rutka said.

She stressed that this proposal might not even happen, as this is just one of the proposals the board is looking into in order to alleviate
its multimillion-dollar budget woes.

Rutka said it will cost the board $120 million over the next decade to maintain the 32 schools. The board currently only has $20 million.

“There is a $100 million gap there,” she said. “If the governments want to give us that, that’s fine.

“But if not, the $100 million has to come from some other place and the only other (place) is our programming.”

But the board’s problems don’t end there. Schools in the Yonge St. area are bursting at the seams, she said. While other schools in Willowdale have a small enrolment.

Additionally the board currently buses 900 children to out-of-area schools. That figure could grow to 3,000 within a decade, Rutka said.

The issue is very longterm, the Willowdale trustee continued. If the board decides to sell a property nothing would happen this fall. Rather, it could take months, even years, for anything to happen.

“It is possible that some schools might close,” Rutka said. “But it doesn’t mean that they will.

“I just don’t know yet.”

Lloyd Leonard, school council chair at Zion Heights Junior High School on Leslie St., said he isn’t against the closure of schools.

Due to the number of school board woes, including enrolment issues, some schools in the area should be closed, said Leonard.

He would have problems, however, with the board deciding to sell schools to condo developers.

Once a school is bulldozed and turned into a condo, the surrounding community that had come to rely on the school will be harmed, he said, noting that families move to an area specifically because of the area’s school. He is also concerned that they will lose green space, and the community groups who use the school building for after-school activities will be forced to find a new space.

“Legally (the community) doesn’t buy a property,” Leonard said. “The school board does.”

However, he said the community “morally” purchases the property through taxes but “really doesn’t get any benefits” if it is sold to developers.

Instead, any closed schools should be used for community purposes, such as parks and recreation programs, and the school’s green space should be kept for the community, he said.

“If the school has to be closed, fine,” Leonard continued, adding the board’s current consultation process shouldn’t just involve parents and schools but the entire community at large. “But close it and use it for an alternate use.”

Principals at the many Willowdale schools stressed the importance of the board’s current consultation process.

“It’s an ongoing process right now,” said Nuzhat Hussain, principal of Pineway Public School in the Leslie St. and Finch Ave. East area.

While she wouldn’t comment on the board’s decision to look into the possibility of selling some Willowdale schools since nothing has been decided, Hussain said right now the board is doing the correct thing in reaching out to the community through a series of consultation meetings.

Virginia McIntyre-Tuzi, principal of Finch Public School, said that she has informed all parents and encouraged them to attend all ward meetings on the subject.

Like Hussain, she wouldn’t comment on the issue, saying it’s beyond her jurisdiction, but said parents who are concerned about the possible closure of some of the area’s schools should realize no decision has been made.

“It’s in its infancy,” McIntyre-Tuzi said on Feb. 21. “It’s only a proposal.

"It’s still at the consultation stage. If anything happens, it’s still a long time down the road.”

Those who are thinking the issue at hand is “all or nothing” — meaning the board will either do nothing to fix their funding woes or sell the schools — is false, said the principal of the Finch Ave. East and Bayview Ave. area school.

Parents shouldn’t panic, but attend the upcoming consultation meetings and have their say instead, she added.

“Knee jerk reactions are very frustrating to hear.”

Rutka mirrored both principals’ thoughts by saying the consultation process involves the community from the ground up.

“We are saying, ‘Can we sit down and talk about it?’” she said. “For once we are looking ahead to the future.”