north-of-anything
Active Member
There are a few threads in the Buildings subforum on certain schools, of the public and post-secondary varieties, but none that I could find on the locations and development of educational facilities in general. Forgive me if I missed it, or if this is in the wrong place.
With regards to elementary and high schools, it's been no secret that the TDSB has been running in the red for a while, with utilization of its school buildings inconsistent across the city. I keep coming back to this article from CityNews that includes a handy Google Maps visualization of where schools are under- or over-populated:
It's easy to see some of the trends here, where underutilized schools are most likely to be found deep in the yellowbelt (especially Etobicoke), and overpopulated schools are often in the east end, and in North York near Sheppard. The Avondale Public School rebuild going from two stories with provisions for a third to three stories is no doubt a reflection of what may happen at other Toronto schools as these corridors continue to intensify. In addition, a lot of brownfield development projects in the city do not include any schools but are still expected to hold dozens (if not hundreds) of multiple-bedroom units. Will the Golden Mile area have any new schools, or are kids going to be forced to take a bus over a kilometre north or south of Eglinton?
There's also the issue of aging and underutilized infrastructure in places that aren't facing development in the near future, like East Scarborough. As someone who went to an underutilized elementary school, I'm sure the neighbourhoods wouldn't appreciate being told that their school selection is going to shrink, but most of these schools are in locations where selling the plots off to developers wouldn't recuperate enough to keep the board afloat.
Post-secondary schools are also like overcrowded elementary and high schools in the way that there is a demand for more classroom space, and new facilities, but a shortage of real estate to build them, restrictions imposed by the provincial government, or other factors are preventing them from being built. The proposed university campuses in downtown Brampton and Unionville would be a start, but there is a definite need for a degree-granting institution north of Highway 7.
With regards to elementary and high schools, it's been no secret that the TDSB has been running in the red for a while, with utilization of its school buildings inconsistent across the city. I keep coming back to this article from CityNews that includes a handy Google Maps visualization of where schools are under- or over-populated:
Cash strapped TDSB losing millions on underutilized schools
Around 50,000 desks that should be occupied by students are sitting empty at underutilized schools throughout Toronto, costing the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) millions of dollars a year as the province embarks on a review of a moratorium on school closures. The latest enrollment numbers...
toronto.citynews.ca
It's easy to see some of the trends here, where underutilized schools are most likely to be found deep in the yellowbelt (especially Etobicoke), and overpopulated schools are often in the east end, and in North York near Sheppard. The Avondale Public School rebuild going from two stories with provisions for a third to three stories is no doubt a reflection of what may happen at other Toronto schools as these corridors continue to intensify. In addition, a lot of brownfield development projects in the city do not include any schools but are still expected to hold dozens (if not hundreds) of multiple-bedroom units. Will the Golden Mile area have any new schools, or are kids going to be forced to take a bus over a kilometre north or south of Eglinton?
There's also the issue of aging and underutilized infrastructure in places that aren't facing development in the near future, like East Scarborough. As someone who went to an underutilized elementary school, I'm sure the neighbourhoods wouldn't appreciate being told that their school selection is going to shrink, but most of these schools are in locations where selling the plots off to developers wouldn't recuperate enough to keep the board afloat.
Post-secondary schools are also like overcrowded elementary and high schools in the way that there is a demand for more classroom space, and new facilities, but a shortage of real estate to build them, restrictions imposed by the provincial government, or other factors are preventing them from being built. The proposed university campuses in downtown Brampton and Unionville would be a start, but there is a definite need for a degree-granting institution north of Highway 7.