The Toronto Star told part of the story in its article today. It contained all the bad news hidden in the whitewash language of the board staff and complicit trustees.
While it did refer a few times to the provincial government made financial crisis that does not finance school programs and facilities adequately and forces boards to sell properties, it treats this like a normal good thing.
But it isn’t. The article should have pointed out that the properties listed are some of the ‘low hanging fruit’ that could be sold easily: houses in Scarborough, administration buildings and closed schools. Most of those are being offered to other public bodies so they will not effect the community too much.
But what the article doesn’t point out is how the board is actively trying to close and sell approximately 100 community based operating schools based on an imaginary capacity formula. These properties would not be available in the future to serve Toronto’s predicted new 1,000,000 residents in the next decade.
It does not talk about how selling properties in a real estate downturn is not a great economic plan.
It does not cost out the bill that the Toronto Lands Corporation (TLC) will be charging for shepherding this sell-off.
Sounds like the reporter read the TLC’s web site and then talked to Shirley Hoy (the CEO who will get $200,000 salary this year) and a few trustee to complete the article. Too bad there is no analysis here.
