No new laptops for students as TDSB passes budget with plans to slash $34M

Trustees for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) have approved a budget for 2025-2026 that includes a plan to balance the board's books over the next two years.

The plan includes a number of cost-saving measures to eliminate a $34.4 million deficit, including a pause on issuing new Chromebooks for students in the coming school year in favour of recirculating devices returned by graduating Grade 12 students, a news release from the board said. 

It also includes a $9.5 million spending cut in operating expenses for central departments of the board that will have "limited impact" on services. Fees will also rise for some continuing education programming, the TDSB said. 

At a meeting in April, trustees heard the school board was facing a $58-million deficit for 2025-2026, with staff looking at a variety of options to balance the budget. Since then, trustees have passed more than $20 million in cuts, resulting in a current deficit of $34.4 million, a spokesperson for the school board said. 

One of the cost-cutting options on the table was closing school pools the board doesn't lease out, which would have saved an estimated $12.8 million. 

However that's not happening after public outcry. 

Pools and aquatics instructors will continue to be available to students and community members for another year, the TDSB said in a Thursday news release. 

Board staff are working on privately leasing more pools while also working with the City of Toronto on the use of TDSB pools, the release says. 

The budget must now be submitted to the Ministry of Education by June 30 for final approval.