A large, pre-semester rally held at the Air Canada Centre for teachers and support staff has been slammed as a large and unnecessary expense.
Parent and student representatives also attended Wednesday's rally, called "Believe It: Our Time Is Now," which featured performances from singer Nikki Yanofsky and the Canadian Tenors.
Thousands attended the party, which the Toronto District School Board said was a professional development event aimed at pumping up morale before the school year starts next week.
The price for the flashy, three-hour event: $127,000.
"This money should be going to special needs assistants in our schools," said school trustee Josh Matlow. "Our buildings are in disrepair, they should be fixed. We really need to prioritize how we spend the limited funds we have in the school board."
Initially, the board cleared $345,000 for a full-day event, but it was scaled back in the face of harsh criticism.
However, TDSB education director Chris Spence explained that the event is worthwhile, considering the important work teachers and staff undertake.
"I see it as an investment in our staff. At the end of the day, this is about $6 per staff. And I don't think that's much when we're trying to invest in our teachers," Spence said. "We know the only way our system gets better is if the people inside our system get better."
CTV Toronto's Janice Golding spoke to several teachers outside the event, and reaction was mixed.
While some teachers expressed concern about the price, others said it was a good way to prepare for 10 months of schoolwork.
The TDSB said many costs, like the performance fees and speaker rental, were covered by corporate sponsors, Golding reported.
