Latest news with #publiceducation
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
The TDSB just passed a budget aimed at slashing its $34.4M deficit. Here is how it might impact your child's school
TDSB Chair Neethan Shan says the province has underfunded public education and speaks about the financial challenges they are facing. TDSB Chair Neethan Shan says the province has underfunded public education and speaks about the financial challenges they are facing. Toronto District School Board (TDSB) trustees passed the board's latest budget Wednesday, but were forced to include a number of measures to tighten belts in the wake of provincial scrutiny. The $3.7 billion budget will balance the board's books by eliminating a $34.4 million deficit over the next two years. 'I am pleased that we have increased funding to valuable programs such as special education and music instruction, while maintaining TDSB pools for another year,' TDSB Chair Neethan Shan said in a statement. 'Sadly, Ministry underfunding will mean we will be put in this difficult position again next year. It is my sincere hope that we can work with the Ministry to address the growing funding gaps so that we can maintain critical programming in a fiscally responsible way.' Underpinning the situation is a ministry investigation into the board's finances and a dispute between the board and the province over whether the TDSB – the largest school board in the country – is underfunded by the province, especially when it comes to special education. Education Minister Paul Calandra's office said the ministry has given the TDSB 'multiple opportunities' to address its financial situation. 'The province is asking the board to find savings of less than two per cent, and instead of looking for administrative savings, they have threatened to cut services for students,' a statement from Calandra's office reads. 'The TDSB's historic mismanagement required our government to take immediate action, which is why we have announced a financial investigation to ensure board resources are going to support students.' Here's what the TDSB is doing in order to balance the books this year The board says it is putting a pause on issuing new Chromebooks for students in the 2025-26 schoolyear and will instead recirculate devices returned by graduating Grade 12 students. An 'Attendance Support Program' is expected to reduce costs related to sick-leave Central departments will reduce spending by $9.5 million in operating expenses that the board says have 'limited impact' on services. Fees will be hiked for general interest and other continuing education programming. The board considered closing school pools it doesn't lease out, but held off on the move due to public pressure. While the board found money to keep aquatic programs going for another year, those services could be in jeopardy again at budget time next year unless other savings are found. The budget will now go to the Ministry of Education for final approval by the end of June.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Unions challenge education hiring freezes before Quebec labour tribunal
Quebec imposed a hiring freeze in the public education sector as of Nov. 1 due to its tight financial situation. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press) On Monday, the Administrative Labour Tribunal is hearing arguments about Quebec's hiring freeze for staff who do not provide direct services to students. Quebec imposed the hiring freeze in the public sector on Nov. 1 due to its tight financial situation. The Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) and four of its federations believe that the hiring freeze for staff who do not provide direct services to students constitutes an obstacle to union activities, in that it prevents the implementation of clauses in collective agreements that were just negotiated. Certain clauses in the collective agreements offer greater job stability and improved employment prospects for employees with precarious work status. For example, they could have access to a regular contract after a certain period of time. However, the merits of the case have yet to be heard. The Attorney General filed a preliminary motion with the court, arguing that too much time has elapsed between the time the CSQ became aware of the Treasury Board's intention to impose a hiring freeze and its complaint of obstruction. Such a complaint must be filed within 30 days, under the Labour Code. During the hearings last March, the parties heard witnesses on the time limit, touching on the specific comments made, when they were made, by whom, to whom, and which job titles were to be affected, among other details. Administrative Judge Michel Maranda will hear the lawyers' arguments on this matter on Monday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 16, 2025.
CBS News
5 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Democratic Texas Rep. Vikki Goodwin enters race for Lt. Governor, says "It's time for change"
State Representative Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, is taking on Lt. Governor Dan Patrick next year as he seeks a fourth term in office. In an interview for Eye On Politics, Goodwin explained why she's running. "I think the time is right. We need a change. I disagree with Dan Patrick on so many of the policies that he has, but also on the corruption that we see of him taking millions of dollars before he was the head judge in an impeachment trial, the way that he rules the Senate with an iron fist, really doesn't encourage any debate over there." Goodwin, who was first elected in 2018, will have to give up her legislative seat in southwest Austin to run for Lt. Governor. "I have to give up my seat in order to run, but it's very frustrating as a Democrat in the minority party when we get crumbs, during legislative sessions." Goodwin told CBS News Texas that her main platforms include public education. She opposed SB 2, the school choice law that will give students tax dollars to attend private schools. "This session we saw $1 billion going into private schools. And I anticipate with the current leadership, that will continue to grow over the years. I'm not in favor of sending our public tax dollars to unaccountable private schools. That's number one." Other issues she says are her top priorities include housing affordability, water and health care. "Housing affordability. I would say that all our leaders have talked about that as a big issue, but what we saw come out of session, in my opinion, doesn't do enough to address that issue. Water and energy, and infrastructure is a big deal. Again, water was prioritized this session. We talked about a lot of things: New water, leaky pipes, but not really a whole lot about conservation. I think there's a lot that we need to do around health care. Whether it's women having the ability to make their own personal private health care decisions or whether it is in rural areas, people just having access to good primary care." Patrick's campaign announced in January that it has $33.5 million cash on hand. President Trump has also endorsed the Lt. Governor for reelection next year. When asked how she can beat Patrick, Representative Goodwin said, "I think it's all about relationships, building relationships with people around things they care about. I've spent the last year traveling the state and looking at the issues all around the state. I'm not interested in the divisive issues. Let's put those aside and let's solve the problems that really make a difference in your life." Watch the full interview with Rep. Goodwin below:
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Major US climate website likely to be shut down after almost all staff fired
A major US government website supporting public education on climate science looks likely to be shuttered after almost all of its staff were fired, the Guardian has learned. the gateway website for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa)'s Climate Program Office, will imminently no longer publish new content, according to multiple former staff responsible for the site's content whose contracts were recently terminated. 'The entire content production staff at (including me) were let go from our government contract on 31 May,' said a former government contractor who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. 'We were told that our positions within the contract were being eliminated.' Rebecca Lindsey, the website's former program manager, who was fired in February as part of the government's purge of probationary employees, described a months-long situation within Noaa where political appointees and career staff argued over the fate of the website. 'I had gotten a stellar performance review, gotten a bonus, gotten a raise. I was performing very well. And then I was part of that group who got the form letter saying, 'Your knowledge, skills, and abilities are no longer of use to Noaa' – or something to that effect.' Lindsey said she had been worried that might be a target of the new administration soon after the election, but when a large Noaa contract was up for renewal at the end of May, her former boss told her that a demand came 'from above' to rewrite parts of the contract to remove the team's funding. 'It was a very deliberate, targeted attack,' said Lindsey. Lindsey said the content for was created and maintained by a contracted staff of about 10, with additional contributions from Noaa scientists, and its editorial content was specifically designed to be politically neutral, and faithful to the current state of the sciences. All of those staff have now been dismissed, she said. 'We operated exactly how you would want an independent, non-partisan communications group to operate,' said Lindsey, and noted that is housed within the science division of Noaa, not its public affairs division. 'It does seem to be part of this sort of slow and quiet way of trying to keep science agencies from providing information to the American public about climate.' Noaa has been contacted for comment. It is unclear whether the website will remain visible to the public. The site was housed within the communication, education, and engagement division of Noaa, which describes itself as 'the largest team in the federal government dedicated to climate communication, education, and engagement'. The website receives hundreds of thousands of visits per month and is one of the most popular sources of information about climate science on the internet. The fired staff believe the changes to were targeted by political appointees within the Trump administration and specifically aimed at restricting public-facing climate information. 'It's targeted, I think it's clear,' said Tom Di Liberto, a former Noaa spokesperson who was also fired from his position earlier this year. 'They only fired a handful of people, and it just so happened to be the entire content team for I mean, that's a clear signal.' The purge spared two web developers, which Di Liberto says is a concerning sign. The contractor said: 'My bigger worry, long-term, is I would hate to see it turn into a propaganda website for this administration, because that's not at all what it was.' The contractor said that while there will still be some pre-written, scheduled content posted on the site this month, there are no plans for further new content: 'After that, we have no idea what will happen to the website.' The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post See our guide at for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each. Lindsey said she also feared a 'sinister possibility' that the administration may co-opt to publish its own anti-science content. Lindsey said the administration could now 'provide a content team from the Heartland Institute, leveraging our audience, our brand, our millions of people that we reach on social media every month. That's the worst-case scenario.' ' is one heck of a URL. If you wanted to basically keep the website alive to do something with later, this is what you would do if you're the [Trump] administration,' said Di Liberto. 'It's clear that the administration does not accept climate science, so it's certainly concerning.' The cuts also mean that there is now also no one left to run social media accounts, which have hundreds of thousands of followers. Since staff in charge of did a lot of pushback on misinformation, their absence may help anti-science information flourish there more readily. 'We were an extremely well-trusted source for climate information, misinformation and disinformation because we actually, legitimately would answer misinformation questions,' said the contractor. 'We'd answer reader emails and try to combat disinformation on social media. Related: 'Flying blind': Florida weatherman tells viewers Trump cuts will harm forecasts 'We get attacked on social media by people who don't believe in climate change, and that's increased over the last six months or so as well.' The shutdown comes amid broader cuts to science funding across the government, including 'significant reductions to education, grants, research, and climate-related programs within Noaa', as stated in the 2026 'passback' budget Congress is currently deliberating. 'It seems like if they can't get rid of all the research, what they can do is make it impossible for anyone to know about it,' said Di Liberto. The contractor said they worry that what may have begun as a heavy-handed attempt by administration officials to limit public knowledge of human-caused climate change will have broader impacts on public education on the cyclical drivers of weather – as well as the results of publicly funded research conducted by Noaa scientists. 'To me, climate is more broad than just climate change. It's also climate patterns like El Niño and La Niña. Halting factual climate information is a disservice to the public. Hiding the impacts of climate change won't stop it from happening, it will just make us far less prepared when it does.'
The Guardian
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Major US climate website likely to be shut down after almost all staff fired
A major US government website supporting public education on climate science looks likely to be shuttered after almost all of its staff were fired, the Guardian has learned. the gateway website for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa)'s Climate Program Office, will imminently no longer publish new content, according to multiple former staff responsible for the site's content whose contracts were recently terminated. 'The entire content production staff at (including me) were let go from our government contract on 31 May,' said a former government contractor who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. 'We were told that our positions within the contract were being eliminated.' Rebecca Lindsey, the website's former program manager, who was fired in February as part of the government's purge of probationary employees, described a months-long situation within Noaa where political appointees and career staff argued over the fate of the website. 'I had gotten a stellar performance review, gotten a bonus, gotten a raise. I was performing very well. And then I was part of that group who got the form letter saying, 'Your knowledge, skills, and abilities are no longer of use to Noaa' – or something to that effect.' Lindsey said she had been worried that might be a target of the new administration soon after the election, but when a large Noaa contract was up for renewal at the end of May, her former boss told her that a demand came 'from above' to rewrite parts of the contract to remove the team's funding. 'It was a very deliberate, targeted attack,' said Lindsey. Lindsey said the content for was created and maintained by a contracted staff of about 10, with additional contributions from Noaa scientists, and its editorial content was specifically designed to be politically neutral, and faithful to the current state of the sciences. All of those staff have now been dismissed, she said. 'We operated exactly how you would want an independent, nonpartisan communications group to operate,' said Lindsey, and noted that is housed within the science division of Noaa, not its public affairs division. 'It does seem to be part of this sort of slow and quiet way of trying to keep science agencies from providing information to the American public about climate.' Noaa has been contacted for comment. It's unclear whether the website will remain visible to the public. The site was housed within the Communication, Education, and Engagement Division of Noaa, which describes itself as 'the largest team in the federal government dedicated to climate communication, education, and engagement'. The website receives hundreds of thousands of visits per month and is one of the most popular sources of information about climate science on the internet. The fired staff believe the changes to were targeted by political appointees within the Trump administration and specifically aimed at restricting public-facing climate information. 'It's targeted, I think it's clear,' said Tom Di Liberto, a former Noaa spokesperson who was also fired from his position earlier this year. 'They only fired a handful of people, and it just so happened to be the entire content team for I mean, that's a clear signal.' The purge spared two web developers, which Di Liberto says is a concerning sign. The contractor said: 'My bigger worry, long-term, is I would hate to see it turn into a propaganda website for this administration, because that's not at all what it was.' The contractor said that while there will still be some pre-written, scheduled content posted on the site this month, there are no plans for further new content: 'After that, we have no idea what will happen to the website.' Lindsey said she also fears a 'sinister possibility' that the administration may co-opt to publish its own anti-science content. Lindsey said the administration could now 'provide a content team from the Heartland Institute, leveraging our audience, our brand, our millions of people that we reach on social media every month. That's the worst-case scenario.' ' is one heck of a URL. If you wanted to basically keep the website alive to do something with later, this is what you would do if you're the [Trump] administration,' said Di Liberto. 'It's clear that the administration does not accept climate science, so it's certainly concerning.' The cuts also mean that there is now also no one left to run social media accounts, which have hundreds of thousands of followers. Since staff in charge of did a lot of pushback on misinformation, their absence may help anti-science information flourish there more readily. 'We were an extremely well-trusted source for climate information, misinformation and disinformation because we actually, legitimately would answer misinformation questions,' said the contractor. 'We'd answer reader emails and try to combat disinformation on social media. 'We get attacked on social media by people who don't believe in climate change, and that's increased over the last six months or so as well.' The shutdown comes amid broader cuts to science funding across the government, including 'significant reductions to education, grants, research, and climate-related programs within Noaa', as stated in the 2026 'passback' budget Congress is currently deliberating. 'It seems like if they can't get rid of all the research, what they can do is make it impossible for anyone to know about it,' said Di Liberto. The contractor said they worry that what may have begun as a heavy-handed attempt by administration officials to limit public knowledge of human-caused climate change will have broader impacts on public education on the cyclical drivers of weather – as well as the results of publicly funded research conducted by Noaa scientists. 'To me, climate is more broad than just climate change. It's also climate patterns like El Niño and La Niña. Halting factual climate information is a disservice to the public. Hiding the impacts of climate change won't stop it from happening, it will just make us far less prepared when it does.'
