In the June 8 Ward 10 Council, we decided that we need to find ways to affect the current budget approval process at the TDSB. Here’s the beginning.
At the Council meeting, we talked about 3 practical things we can do to follow up on the overwhelming input we got at the budget consultation for Wards 10, 9, 7, and 15 on May 14.
- Prepare a press conference, for June 16
- Invite everyone to go speak at the Board on June 17.
- Invite everyone to attend the Board meeting on June 24 where the budget is slated for voting.
This is the MOST IMMEDIATE and TRICKIEST piece! What should the goal(s) of the press conference be? We need your input, below, please, or in email to info@myward10.ca. What is our main message? Our main ASK? Who will speak there? We’ve secured a room on June 16, at 10:00, at Queen’s Park for the conference. What will the press release say? We need input input, commitment commitment, from you to make this opportunity pay off for everyone. We’re all affected by the destructive approach to education budgeting perpetuated by the Province and acquiesced by our Board. What are we going to do? Please write below your ideas and commitments. Let’s form a group, quick quick, to hammer the message of the press conference.
Please write to info@myward10.ca to join the group preparing the press conference.
We also debated how to best let our trustees know our thoughts and feelings on the proposed budget. When it comes to reversing the trend of cutbacks and moving toward a needs-based budgeting process, does the pressure belong to the Trustees who keep accepting, or to the Province who keeps pushing? Or both? And how? Certainly, spreading to our network an invitation to address the board on June 17 can help. Find out how to deputize here.
And we said: Let’s flood the gallery on June 24th, when trustees are scheduled to vote on a budget they haven’t seen yet. They need to watch us watch them!