Or is the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) heading for a breakup? One of the main reasons is the sheer size of the TDSB, currently at approximately 259,000 students. The ideal size of a board is 50,000. The reason for the enormous size of the current board is that after the amalgamation of the city of Toronto, the Mike Harris government amalgamated 7 school boards into the current TDSB as a cost saving measure. The result has been a board that is too large to manage efficiently.

The reality is that the TDSB has a very large budget deficit to deal with and that the current structure is clearly not working. But, how do you change the system while satisfying the population that you are trying to serve. The board of trustees will consider 4 different models.

•    Full de-amalgamation model - The TDSB would cease to exist and new boards would be created.
•    Increased local decision-making model - The TDSB would remain as is but more resources and decision-making power would go to local entities.
•    Federal model - Regional boards would be set up to deal with local issues but board-wide issues will be decided by a central governing body.
•    Umbrella model - This would basically revert to what it was like pre-amalgamation. Sounds just like the full de-amalgamation model, doesn’t it?

What do you think is the answer? Are you in favour of scrapping the TDSB completely? Or do you prefer more modest changes? Will anyone really be satisfied with the result?