TCDSB, money available for who holds purse strings
TORONTO – The decision by the Provincially appointed Supervisor, Frank Benedetto, to end International Languages Day programs at the Toronto Catholic District School Board, as of next September, has set off a firestorm of protest, at least in the online world and among those who read. He justified his decision as a cost-cutting measure to bring the TCDSB’s deficit under control.
That deficit is a moving target. As recently as the first quarter of 2024, that board tabled an in-year surplus of $100 million. By the end of the fourth quarter, the surplus magically became a $ 40 million deficit. By the time the Ministry noticed, it went to $48 million, and, when the Ministry placed the Board under supervision, according to public statements attributed to the Minister, it had ramped up to $78 million. Yes a $178 million turn around.
It does get better. The most recent estimate, according to AI generated data is about $35 million – apparently because (wait for it) a 1,500 increase in enrolment of various programs has not materialized. Ergo the solution to cut 77 teaching jobs in 39 schools offering the IL day program and to change the bells times (for bus transportation?) accordingly thus shaving about $7.7 million, or 20% more or less, from the deficit.
Pause for a moment to reflect that Ministry documents indicate every registered student (Average Daily Enrolment ADE) in the board generates $13,000 for the board. That’s not “public” money but money derived from property and business owners identified and certified as supporters of the Catholic system and taxed for that purpose. Approximately 22%, or one in five homeowners/entrepreneurs fit the assessment of Catholic for educational purposes, as per constitutional arrangement. The overall revenue for the TCDSB hence totals $1.3 billion (rounded). Seven million ($7.7 million above) “are peanuts in comparison”.
Follow the “magic” bouncing ball. The numbers will make your head spin. Those 77 language instructors are evidently the root cause of bad decisions – sarcasm deliberately intended. None of those instructors appear on the Ontario Sunshine list which tells all taxpayers the names and sums of all public servants who receive over $100,000 from the “public purse”. That is because, on average, none receive much more than half of that amount.
Their “employers”, the experts in pedagogy, religious values that form the bases for the existence of the system, and the financial wizards who “run the business” – the people whose expertise led to the disastrous deficits – are a different story. No, we are not talking about trustees who granted an honorarium of about $ 18,000 and some expenses. Ten of the twenty-two top “executives”, whose research “informed the Ministry and Mr. Benedetto” of the financial state of affairs in 2024-25, earned more than $2.5 million. None of them were terminated or “demoted”.
In 2025-26 they all received a raise in salary, even though the ADE continues to drop. None of them appear to know or acknowledge the value of learning an ancestral language and why that is an investment rather than a cost. The former Director, now CEO recommended – and received- for himself an increase in salary to $317,000 per annum plus a generous holiday package. And Supervisor Frank Benedetto?
Corriere attempted to reach out to the CEO and others in the article, receiving no response.
In the pic below, clockwise from top left: Chief Executive Officer Brendan Browne ($317,000/year), Supervisor Frank Benedetto, Chief Operating Officer Derek Boyce ($257,538/year), Chief Education Officer Adrian Della Mora ($257,538/year), Chief Communications Officer Shazia Vlahos ($225,484/year), Chief Financial Officer Ryan Putnam ($235,939/year) – photos: TCDSB and premium.canadianlawyermag.com
