The City of Toronto’s budget chief says he stands by the decision to cut funding to an east-end school swimming pool but expects a motion to reinstate the money on Wednesday, following backlash from local parents — and Olympic hero Penny Oleksiak.
The city’s executive committee has already approved the relocation of city programming from three Toronto District School Board swimming pools in East York and North York to other city facilities. The budget will be debated before city council this week.
The relocation decision prompted Oleksiak to tweet her support for local pools. Mayor John Tory responded with an open letter promising her that “children would still be able to learn to swim and parents will not have to go far to use the facilities.”
But Leslieville parents using the S.H. Armstrong pool — whose municipal swimming programs are on the chopping block — say they don’t buy the mayor’s line.
Around 75 community members braved the snow on Sunday to rally in support for the pool, which is located at a small elementary school and is slated to lose $85,000 in city funding this year. Its classes will be transferred to several other community centres within a 2.1 km radius, according to budget documents.
“Every facility in the neighbourhood is already wait-listed and oversubscribed. It basically means children won’t learn to swim,” said local mother Angie Law, whose kids aged 11 and 8 dived in to city swimming classes at S.H. Armstrong.
“(It) seems like this was written by somebody who has a car who lives in a suburb where there’s lots and lots of parking,” she added.
Toronto budget chief Gary Crawford said his staff thoroughly researched the decision to relocate some programming, and found there was “plenty of capacity locally within local schools.”
“Staff wouldn’t have recommended it if there wasn’t the appropriate capacity in the community and that’s what we based our decision on,” he told the Star.
Budget documents suggest there are around 1,500 community programming spaces at pools close to S.H. Armstrong. Overall, the city uses school swimming pools for 58 per cent of the available time — but covers 100 per cent of the operating costs. The estimated price tag is an average of $200,000 per pool per year.
Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon, who represents Ward 32 (Beaches-East York), tried unsuccessfully at executive committee last week to block programming cuts at the Duke of Connaught Public School’s pool. Mayor John Tory voted against her motion.
Law said she hoped the fight to reverse S.H. Armstrong’s funding cuts would garner more support on Wednesday. She disputes the city’s contention that nearby facilities will be able to absorb demand — arguing that while there may be capacity for higher level classes at local pools, programming for young children is inundated.
Local community members are also frustrated with what they call a lack of consultation over the cuts, Law added, and are concerned for families in nearby public housing who rely on the S.H. Armstrong pool’s accessible services.
“That’s what a community centre is supposed to be: It’s supposed to be accessible and around the block,” she said.
“It’s meant to be at the heart of a community, not in someone else’s.”
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