Last Wednesday, the TDSB Trustees rejected a plan to generate $45 million over three years to pay for necessary capital projects. This five-year capital plan would sell six closed schools and severed land from up to 30 schools with large sites (> 12 acres). The failure of the capital building program has a direct impact on Runnymede P.S.
Currently, our school enrolment of 1,130 students in a building with a capacity of 866 students places us at 130% capacity and our enrollment grows year-by year. In September 2014 the school is required to implement full-day kindergarten, requiring five additional classrooms — which we don’t have!
Boundary changes have been made to divert students to nearby schools. There is insufficient space on the Runnymede P.S. site to accommodate any more portables or an addition. The soil structure prevents any vertical additions. The only possible relief for the overcrowding at Runnymede is to build an addition at Keele St. P.S. (currently JK-6), so that they could retain the Gr. 7 & 8’s in their catchment area who currently come to Runnymede P.S. But Keele St.’s addition was on the revised capital plan, which was voted down. The project is now on indefinite hold until a new, funded capital plan is developed by the TDSB and approved by the Ministry of Education. In the meantime, five classes of Runnymede P.S. students will be without classrooms in September 2014.
If you are interested in participating in a discussion about the over-capacity at the school and the imminent inability to accommodate all the children in the catchment area, please come to the school council meeting on Thursday Nov. 29 at 7:00 p.m. in the school library.
Please lend your voice and efforts to help us fix this situation!
Runnymede Home & School Association 