‘School lands should be off the table’: Toronto parents rally to block housing development

Parents and residents are protesting against the Ford government and Toronto school boards about redeveloping schools for mid-rise buildings.

Parents and their children rallied outside some Toronto schools Thursday morning against a legal challenge they fear will see schools closed and lands sold for homes.

“This is about community spaces, green spaces, parks, playgrounds, and school lands. School lands should be off the table,” mother Maria Judas told CTV News outside Dewson Street Public School near Ossington Avenue and College Street.

Last year, the City of Toronto opened the door to housing developments of up to 14 storeys along major avenues—including on lands where schools currently sit.

After public blowback, the city exempted school lands.

That decision is being appealed by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and Toronto Catholic District School Board to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

A TDSB spokesperson says its appeal is to “safeguard the value of (TDSB’s) investments for the future benefit of students.”

“The City of Toronto decision arbitrarily devalues school properties and directly takes money out of public education in Toronto,” Ryan Bird wrote in a statement to CTV News.

“When a school board does sell a surplus property, those revenues are reserved for school renewal funding and other capital improvements.

Bird stresses that no operating schools are being considered for sale and that a nine-year-old provincial moratorium on the closure of schools remains in effect.

Those kinds of assurances are not comforting to Dewson’s parents.

“Are they really looking out for our children’s futures or themselves? The money. That’s what it is,” Debra Randall tells CTV News.

Provincially appointed supervisors for school boards, including the TDSB, are examining underused schools, though there are many steps before a school could be declared surplus and repurposed.

Emma Testani, spokesperson for Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra, echoed TDSB’s sentiments about the City of Toronto’s decision, saying it will cost both Toronto boards millions of dollars.

“If, in the future, a school board sells a property that it no longer needs, the proceeds of disposition go directly to that school board’s school facility renewal and school capital improvements,” Testani said in a statement to CTV News on Thursday.

“The Minister is supportive of the Toronto District School Board and Toronto Catholic District School Board’s decisions to appeal to safeguard the value of their investments in public education for the future benefit of students.”

Community members believe Toronto has enough land to meet its housing needs. They worry that divvying up school properties might appear to solve one issue but spawn another.

“Where do those kids attend school, and where do the people in those buildings have the green space to be able to enjoy their lives?” asks Andrew Waters.

A pre-hearing to establish some parameters for the appeal at the Land Tribunal is set for May 25.