In what appears to be precedent-setting, Toronto’s Catholic board plans to charge teachers $10 a day for parking in the school lot — a “ridiculous” move that amounts to a “salary clawback,” say educators who feel the board is balancing the budget on their backs.Trustees at the Toronto Catholic District School Board, which faces a $32-million deficit because of funding cuts by the Ford government, agreed to a parking fee as a way to generate revenue and save student resources and programs that were on the chopping block.At a special board meeting about the budget on Tuesday night, trustees passed the motion that a fee be implemented at all school facilities and board headquarters. Teachers and administrators will pay $10 a day, while education workers, administrative workers and facilities workers will pay $5 a day. The fee — an idea that’s been floated before — could generate an estimated $6.4 million in annual revenue. “We decided that our children were the priority and the education they were getting in their schools was really really important,” board chair Maria Rizzo told the Star on Wednesday. “It was a choice between: On the backs of kids or on the backs of staff. And no one, no one felt good about it. No one wanted to make that decision.”The motion was one of several presented as a way to raise money to offset cuts to special education, English-as-a-second language programs, guidance counsellors, educational assistants and a literacy program.Across the province, school boards are grappling with how to balance their budgets in light of provincial funding cuts by Doug Ford’s PC government, which will result in larger class sizes, fewer course selections, and various programs being slashed — and the possibility of teacher layoffs. Toronto’s public board is facing a budget shortfall of $67.8 million — but it’s not considering a parking fee. Read more:S ...
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