The province-appointed supervisor for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has scrapped the trustee-approved plan to rename three schools.<\/p>\n
The plan to change the names of Sir John A. MacDonald Collegiate Institute, Ryerson Community School and Dundas Junior Public School was initially paused in June<\/a> in the wake of Bill 33, which would give the education minister more power over school boards.<\/p>\n The following month, TDSB Supervisor Rohit Gupta rescinded the renaming altogether.<\/p>\n According to board documents, staff presented Gupta with three options: axe the renaming, continue the pause pending legislation, and proceed with the process, along with the associated benefits and risks of each option.<\/p>\n Staff said cancelling the renaming would provide clarity to the impacted schools and preserve board resources, but it may damage its credibility and relationships with Indigenous communities, equity advocates and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n Staff also advised that abandoning the plan \u201ccould be viewed as erasing or invalidating community voice and previous consultation processes, negatively impacting students, staff, and communities who have engaged in this work in good faith.\u201d <\/p>\n The board previously said the renaming of the three schools was in response to increased public attention on schools that are named after individuals with \u201chistorical legacies\u201d that \u201cno longer represent the values and perspectives of our students and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Staff estimated the cost to rename a school would be approximately $30,000 and may increase to $60,000 depending on the size.<\/p>\n