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Provincial Budget Commitments to Enhance Community Use of Schools -
While Minister Wynne and the Ministry of Education have taken steps to increase access to schools more needs to be done. See the SPACE Coalition’s recommendations to improve equitable access for all Ontarians.
Final Space Budget letter Dec 18 09 SPACE Recommendations for the 2010 Budget

Social Planning Toronto hosted a lively discussion back in September on the issue of public use of schools, community hubs and school board processes in school closure situations. The audience included not only students and community members, but also a number of senior politicians and school trustees. Here we present the slides from the presentation of Ranu Basu, from the Geography Department at York University, who has mapped school closings and analyzed for spatial justice.

A recent Toronto Star editorial comments on the work of a group of rural citizens working together to try to change the way decisions to close schools are made.

The objective of the 2009 edition of the Focus on Youth program is to enhance high quality summer program opportunities for children and youth in Toronto’s high need areas by offering free use of school space for organized community-based programs.

Norm Beach and Tam Goossen ask “During this recession, will we sell public assets at fire-sale prices? Or mothball them for years to come? And what if those assets are schools nestled deep within communities in need of services?”

The Government of Ontario recently announced that it would put $195 million over two years toward the Recreational Infrastructure Canada program in Ontario and the Ontario Recreation Program.

On July 1st, 2009, Carol Goar wrote an article for the Toronto Star about Community Use of Space and SPACE Coalition’s successes.

77 Toronto District School Board schools identified for free use by Not-For-Profit organizations.

At the request of the premier in 2008 Curling and McMurtry delved into the “Roots of Youth Violence”.