How did Toronto’s schools get so broken?

The list is long and varies from school to school. Some of it is structural—leaky roofs and mice infestations, repairs that never get made, and poor ventilation. Some of it directly impacts learning—staffing shortages, a lack of equipment like textbooks and markers, and not even one-on-one care for students with special needs.

Add it all up, and most schools are fighting just to stay afloat.

Wency Leung is a reporter with The Local. 

“When parents complained to the school board, it says, ‘Well, we can’t do anything because it’s the province.’ And when they complain to the province, the province says, ‘No, no, you have to go to the school board.’ So it can be very frustrating,” said Leung. 

How did this happen? It’s a story that spans the past few decades and has also happened elsewhere in Ontario. It’s a problem that could happen anywhere. The question is if we’ll solve it before it takes its toll on students.

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