Students from racialized and lower-income communities face far greater challenges in the move to so much online, at-home learning. The Auditor General recently tabled a report highlighting concerns with the way OSAP was administered, as well as drastic overspending. We’re giving latitude to our school boards to do that, and to do whatever it takes to support our drivers and ultimately get our kids to school safely every day.”. The pandemic has brought to the fore the great inequities in our education system. C'est nécessaire pour protéger les enfants, les parents, et le personnel. To order If all these funds were promised to school boards, let’s make sure they’re being applied where they’re supposed to be applied,” Montgomery said. It’s further exacerbating the negative impact on students that comes with COVID-19.”. Working with all partners in education to keep our students and staff safe and supported during the #COVID19 pandemic. An eyebrow can be raised around the timing of the move. Montgomery says she’s heard stories from drivers in other boards who say they’re not being compensated for extra responsibilities like cleaning and sanitization.

But the pandemic disruptions that have turned schools and the educational experience of students upside down has also made the need for this change all the clearer. The report concluded that despite the previous government’s excessive spending, OSAP did not result in proportionately higher enrolment. This letter to Stephen Lecce, the provincial minister of education, was circulated to local municipalites and local MPPs last week. Fees for essential health and safety initiatives will continue to be mandatory. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto When you have a job that requires you to transport kids in the morning and the afternoon, with so much pressure to be on time, it’s hard for drivers to squeeze in all the other part-time work they’re probably doing elsewhere in order to make a living.”.

The fix caused more problems than it solved and it’s good to see it come to an end. In October, the boards decided to even out the cancellations by spreading them across the city on a rotating basis.

Of that $110 million, Hamilton’s school boards received roughly $867,000.

Seniority and negotiation are core union beliefs so, predictably, those that will be affected by this are unimpressed by the government’s unilateral move. Stephen has 6 jobs listed on their profile. To order copies of The boards pool their funds into one joint organization for student transportation in Hamilton called the Hamilton-Wentworth Student Transportation Services (HWSTS), which is then distributed to partner bus companies. An arts and science undergraduate student at York University would see a reduction of $700. By mid-September, the school boards reported a shortage of nearly 80 drivers across the city. In a statement, Lecce’s spokesperson Caitlin Clark reaffirmed the province’s commitment of $110 million in transportation funding for cleaning, PPE, and recruitment and retention programs.

A closer examination of the numbers behind the government’s funding announcements reveals that the money available is less than what it appears to be — and that the incentives being offered are not enough to recruit and retain drivers. rights reserved. “We’ve taken steps to try and reduce this problem, but it remains a big problem,” said Alex Johnstone, chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. Republication or distribution of this content is Toronto - Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, along with member of Parliament (MPP) Stephen Lecce, announced that for the first time in Ontario's history, students at every publicly-assisted college and university will see their tuition rates go down by 10 per cent. On Thursday, Lecce announced the government is revoking the regulation. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. And, as students and parents know all too well, teachers are not created equal when it comes to comfort and skill with leading classes and engaging students through a screen. The government has been chipping away at this regulation, and certainly it’s now using the political leeway the pandemic affords to skip ahead. View Stephen Lecce’s profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. MPP LECCE BACKS ONTARIO GOVERNMENT'S PLAN TO LOWER STUDENT TUITION BY 10 PER CENT. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about Reducing tuition and increasing the affordability of college and university is part of the government’s plan to help people get the training they need to get good paying jobs. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution “Our classrooms simply do not reflect our province, and that is a problem,” Lecce said. Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce has been in the public spotlight a great deal speaking about the Ford Government’s plans to meet the needs of students during the COVID-19 crisis. He’s right, but dropping this regulation may not be enough to change that. But what is he and his Ministry planning to do for students with disabilities during this crisis? “Students are already having disruptions to their school days because of this. Average university tuition in Ontario has increased significantly since the mid-1990s and is currently the highest in any Canadian province.

“When it comes to retaining talent, we’re going to be there for our school boards, as we always have,” he said. Students pay fees in addition to tuition, which can range from approximately several hundred dollars to $2,000 per academic year. Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6, Lecce announced the government is revoking the regulation. The government’s historic tuition reduction for 2019-20 represents the first time Ontario student tuition has decreased across all funding-eligible programs. All Update: Twenty new schools will be built with a $550 million investment from the provincial government, Education Minister Stephen Lecce says. Some Hamilton bus companies pay as little as $17.50 an hour, while drivers often work on a part-time basis ensuring fewer hours a week. View Stephen Lecce’s profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. Some bus companies, she said, haven’t compensated their drivers for these responsibilities because they say they haven’t received the funds from the school boards. Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. Even former Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne, who was also an education minister and a school trustee before that, admitted many years ago that Regulation 274 was an “overcorrection.”. Couldn’t be prouder to stand by his side as his best…” Standing in a colourful elementary classroom in downtown Toronto, Lecce assured the boards the funding would attract new drivers and keep the existing ones. permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com. In a statement, Lecce’s spokesperson Caitlin Clark reaffirmed the province’s commitment of $110 million in transportation funding for cleaning, PPE, and recruitment and retention programs. Update: Twenty new schools will be built with a $550 million investment from the provincial government, Education Minister Stephen Lecce says. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto The tuition rate reduction is the latest step in the Ontario's Government's plan to keep more money in the pockets of students and families. It was a mistake from day one and Education Minister Stephen Lecce is right to scrap it where he can. Approximately $714,000 went to the HWDSB, for both cleaning and recruitment purposes, while roughly $153,000 went to Hamilton’s Catholic school board.

First ever province-wide tuition reduction will make college and university more affordable for students and families in Vaughan and King Township. The province pledged $110 million to school boards for a range of expenses concerning school buses: personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning and disinfectant supplies, more staffing for enhanced cleaning protocols, and support for driver recruitment and retention. The majority of Ontario drivers are retirees, many of whom are unwilling to compromise their health or safety in the midst of a pandemic. The funding didn’t fix Hamilton’s bus driver woes.

As of early October, the boards still needed 45 more drivers to operate school buses. Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com, The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star What was once a regressive and awkward hiring regulation is now a problem that can’t be worked around anymore. For years, the boards and bus companies have struggled to recruit drivers willing to take students to and from school, and the pandemic has only exacerbated this problem, as older drivers at greater risk of contracting illness opt to stay home or find work elsewhere. Today the AODA Alliance wrote Mr. Lecce. “We will never hesitate from taking further action to protect the health and safety of Ontario’s students and education staff,” Clark wrote.