Chris Moise TDSB Trustee, Ward 14 Toronto Centre—Rosedale

Toronto has been shocked by Premier Doug Ford’s move to slash Toronto City Council from 47 to 25 councillors in the middle of a municipal election, without any notice or consultation. Even now, Bill-5 is working its way to a third reading at the Ontario Legislature and could be law within days.

Our downtown neighbourhoods have been intensifying at unprecedented rates, without the investments needed to serve a growing population and address the crises before us. Now Doug Ford is mandating that Torontonians have less representation and less access to our School Board Trustees and City Councillors. Toronto deserves better and now is the time to meet and discuss what happens next.

I'd like to begin by thanking you very much for giving me the opportunity to serve as your public school Trustee and represent you at the Toronto District School Board. It has been a tremendous honour and privilege and I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish together.

With only 22 days left until election day, we need to speak up and ensure our MPP candidates pledge to prioritize affordable childcare, adequate funding to fix our schools and an overhaul of the funding formula to give our students what they need to succeed. Together we can build better schools!

Based on feedback from parents and the community, I am excited to share with you that this summer, in collaboration with Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam and the City of Toronto, we are moving forward with replacing the fencing surrounding Church Street Public School. This finishing touch will create a safer, more vibrant public space for the school and surrounding community.

I wanted to provide you with a quick budget update.

At our last board meeting, Trustee's approved a budget plan for the 2018-19 school year that required no reduction in staff to balance the budget. The operating budget of about $3.3 billion will continue to support the TDSB’s commitment to equity, and the achievement and well-being of all students.

We had a lot of important items on last week's agenda. Here are the key decisions that were made by the board at our meeting last week. You can view the full summary of decisions and minutes of past meetings here.

I would first like to state that my stance on this issue has not changed since we first passed the motion back in March of 2017. As all of you can recall, a motion in the name of equity, certainty and anti-oppression was presented, and a vote was originally cast by this board that would effectively disallow all students from travelling to the United States to compete in any previously-scheduled competitions.

February is African Heritage Month, Chinese Heritage Month, and Kindergarten Registration Month.

You have most likely read in the news that last week a majority of my colleagues and I voted in favour of ending the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program. I believe that we voted for equitable, safe, and nurturing school environments and not against police.

Over the past month, many parents and students have reached out to my office to express their concerns about rumours that have been circulating regarding the draft recommendations brought forward by the Enhancing Equity Task Force.