In 2024, I brought forward a motion calling for municipalities and school boards to work towards a MOU to open school gymnasiums making them available to local municipalities for community recreational use during evenings and weekends.
That motion passed.
Unfortunately, nothing has changed. Despite multiple productive meetings with the Minister of Education to discuss the importance of protecting community access to these facilities and ensuring local recreation remained affordable no progress has been made.
Now we’re seeing the consequences. Local not-for-profit sports organizations are facing dramatic increases in school permit costs, increases that could force long-standing basketball, pickleball, volleyball, Special Olympics, and other community programs to shut down. That should concern us all.
Our schools are taxpayers funded community assets. Our municipal recreation facilities are taxpayer funded community assets. So, instead of putting up financial barriers that make it harder for residents to stay active, we should be working together to maximize use of the facilities taxpayers have paid for.
This is why I initiated discussions for an MOU two years ago, and why I am continuing to do so today.
We need to find a better way, because affordable access to recreation facilities strengthens our community.
5 Responses
We are an all girls basketball club in York region and these increases are effectively closing down permits with the substantial costs in permits for non for profit youth clubs .. something needs to be done
Don’t forget Scouting Groups (and other similar groups). To the best of my knowledge there are over 30 Scout sections whose meeting places are threatened by this YRDSB move.
Nobody can afford the permit costs now. Small groups like scouts, after school programs, sports clubs and off season training and clinics will be cancelled because they are now priced out. We are writing the ministry of sport and the minister of education because something needs to be done. Contact them and share your thoughts on this.
As a teacher I watched the YRDSB waste money year after year on top heavy management and consulting that did not improve conditions in the classroom. Now that this mismanagement has put them in a financial crisis, instead of looking for savings from within they chose rather to make non profit organizations a new revenue stream.
This is really concerning. These increases are going to make it much harder for local sports clubs and community programs to operate. In the end, either fees go up significantly for families or some programs simply disappear.
These gyms are already there and paid for by taxpayers. There has to be a reasonable way for schools and community groups to share these facilities without making them unaffordable.