331 permanent teachers at Peel school board could be laid off come September

The Peel District School Board head office is pictured. (photo Google Maps)

More than 330 permanent teachers at Peel District School Board (PDSB) have recently learned that they could be out of work this upcoming school year, a move their unions are calling “shortsighted,” “devastating,” and “irresponsible.”

On Monday, 159 secondary teachers in Peel received a notice advising them that they could be laid off come Aug. 31.

That comes exactly two weeks after 172 elementary teachers from the board were advised their positions have been declared “surplus to region,” meaning they’re also at risk of being laid off.

‘It’s frightening’: union

Nadia Goode, president of the Peel Elementary Teachers’ Local, said they’re not surprised by the surplus declaration, as it has happened in previous years due to declining enrollment.

What’s shocking, she said, is that this time, three times more staff members received it.

“It’s unprecedently high,” she said, noting in previous years all PDSB teachers who were declared surplus were recalled.

Goode said she isn’t confident that will happen this fall, especially with the recent takeover of the Peel public board by the province.

“I don’t think the board did very well in their planning,” she said.

“(These layoffs have) created a lot of uncertainty. … It’s frightening.”

Goode went on to say that it is “shortsighted” of the board to “allow (their members) to be in this kind of position.”

Layoffs an ‘unprecedented move’: OSSTF

In a news release, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) District 19 – Peel Region called out the Ford government and Minister of Education Paul Calandra for the “unprecedented move” of laying off almost 160 of its members.

“The government must halt this move to lay off teachers until it has clear awareness with actual enrollment figure,” it wrote.

Nicole Allison, president of District 19’s Teachers Bargaining Unit, said these layoffs are “devastating to the teachers affected, and irresponsible to students, parents, and the general public.”

She said they’re “currently investigating why the number of surplus teachers is so high, as it does not match what our typical projections would be,” adding OSSTF is meeting with the surplus teachers on Wednesday.

“The government claims they placed the Peel District School Board under supervision because the Board planned on eliminating 60 long-term occasional jobs. However, within weeks of government supervision, 159 permanent teachers have learned they will not have a job in September. This means less supports and guidance for students,” Allison said in a release, saying the government’s reasons for the takeover are “self-serving.”

“The government is appointing insiders and private sector figures who lack direct education experience and do not know what students or educators need for a healthy public education system. Schools cannot run like private corporations. Students are not products.”

She said what students need is “investment in resources and frontline workers.”

Long-time PDSB trustee David Green, who served as chair of the board until the province took over, told CP24 that in previous years they’d be granted permission from the Ministry of Education to dip into the reserves to the tune of $1 to $2 million to make ends meet so that teachers wouldn’t be faced with the possibility of losing their jobs when enrollment dropped.

That ask, he said, was rejected this time around, despite the PDSB having $130 million in available reserves.

“That left us in a vulnerable position,” Green said.

He noted that when faced with 2,300 fewer students registered this January, resulting in less grant money from the province, an unprecedented number of layoff notices was issued.

Early projections indicate that PDSB enrollment could drop by up to 1,800 more for the coming school year, according to Green.

Green went on to say that the board was forced to come up with “creative ways” to balance the 2025-2026 budget.

One idea was to return 60 higher-paid seconded staff to the classroom at the start of this year, resulting in that same number of long-term occasional teachers being sent back to the supply list if permanent positions aren’t available for them.

In the end, that number was brought down to 47, he said. However, Calandra rejected that idea, using it as the key reason for taking over the board in late January.

“Calandra created this problem,” Green claimed.

“The plan we gave him was bulletproof. It was solid.”

Green says he feels the province’s takeover of the PDSB was a done deal, even before it was announced.

“It was not transparent,” he said, adding he’s speaking out because he wants people to “know the truth.”

“It’s not a better situation. It’s a worse situation.”

Calandra’s press secretary said the layoff notices that were issued are “part of routine planning for the upcoming school year, unlike the (PDSB) trustees’ plan to impose imminent mid-year layoffs that would have caused significant disruption to student learning.”

The Ministry of Education had previously cited the board’s plan to lay off 60 classroom staff, which it said would have “caused significant learning disruption for nearly 1,400 students in the middle of the school year,” as a key reason why it placed the board under provincial supervision, halting its “imminent layoff plan.”

“Staffing is finalized in September, once enrollment is confirmed and boards know how many students are in classrooms and how many teachers are needed,” Emma Testani wrote in an email to CP24.

For Goode, the takeover has “only made (the situation) worse,” as school boards are already struggling with limited resources and financial constraints that have made things “disastrous.”

“It’s only going to get worse and other boards are in the same position,” she said.

“It’s not just Peel that is under strain to meet these unrealistic expectations. (The province) is stripping away funding, resources and support and blaming us for the fallout. It’s ridiculous.”