Carla Kisko

Associate Director, Fianance and Operations, Toronto District School Board

Angelos Bacopoulos

Associate Director, Facilities, Sustainability and Employee Services, Toronto District School Board

Dear Ms. Kisko and Mr. Bacopoulos

I disagree and would like to note my disappointment in the spirit by which the TDSB has tried to force the Church Street Junior Public School community to accept the terms of reference regarding the plan for the playground and use of the $1.5 million in development-related settlement funds.

I expect those responsible for the delivery of education services to be fair and work collaboratively with parents, the children and the community by:

1. Committing all of the $1.5M settlement money from the 70-72 Carlton development to Church St. Jr PS. The TDSB should not divert part of the settlement funds from the Tribute development to other schools.

The late Trustee Sheila Ward and the Board promised that all of those funds would benefit the children at Church Street when they established the Development Committee of professionals; who are parents of Church Street students.

These compensation funds could be put to good use improving the school experience of the students affected by the 70-72 Carlton development.

2. Finding a natural and fiscally responsible ground cover for the field at Church St. I do not support the installation of artificial turf on the school grounds.

There is almost no green space in our neighbourhood, and the school grounds provide a vital natural area designated for use by the children.

The TDSB has never properly implemented grass at Church Street so its viability has not been properly tested.

Spending $1.1 million on a playground is way too much; the $500,000 extra cost for the artificial turf is a waste of these settlement funds. They can be put to much better use at the school.

Current and future students of Church St are the ones being directly impacted by the Tribute development. The health and well-being of our children must be the top priority.

Sincerely,