David Green, a trustee who chaired the board until the province took over in late January, said the Peel District School Board has declared more than 300 permanent teachers surplus for next year. The notices have prompted alarm from union leaders and raised the prospect that as many as 200 teachers could lose their jobs if they are not recalled to permanent positions.
How Peel District School Board issued notices to secondary and elementary teachers
On Monday, 159 secondary teachers received formal notices that they are surplus to the region. That announcement followed a similar move roughly two weeks earlier when 172 elementary teachers received notices of layoff. Boards typically declare staff excess when projected staffing levels exceed anticipated classroom needs; many teachers are later recalled as retirements, resignations or changing program demand creates vacancies.
Nadia Goode and Nicola Allison on what the surplus means for staff and students
Nadia Goode, president of the Peel Elementary Teachers’ Local, said this year’s numbers are unusually large and flagged 160 full-time equivalent positions as affected. She said, “These folks have been notified that they are laid off. Folks are confused, they’re hurt. The rug has been pulled out from beneath them. ” Nicola Allison, president of the teacher bargaining unit of Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation District 19, urged the province to pause and wait for confirmed enrolment figures, warning these changes would reduce supports for students in special education, English-language learners and those who rely on international student services.
Minister Paul Calandra, Emma Testani and the late January provincial takeover
The move followed a provincial takeover of the board in late January. Emma Testani, press secretary for Minister Paul Calandra, framed the notices as routine planning for the upcoming school year and contrasted them with trustees’ earlier plans for imminent mid-year layoffs. She said the government stepped in to prevent mid-year cuts that would have disrupted student learning and that ministry officials were surprised to learn of the board’s mid-year shortfall and staffing changes.
Union leaders say the scale of this year’s declarations is alarming. They have warned that if recalls do not materialize, layoffs could reach as many as 200 teachers next fall, a figure that would affect classroom supports and specialized programming.
School boards commonly use seniority rules to target notices to those with the least seniority. Teachers who are not placed in permanent positions can become occasional teachers, a route that carries less pay and fewer guarantees than a permanent placement.
Trustees’ authority was stripped when the province took control, and that removal of local decision-making has shaped how the board will navigate staffing in the months ahead. For now, the ministry has positioned the notices as part of standard planning rather than immediate dismissals.
David Green, who spoke earlier about enrolment pressure, said the board has already seen a drop of about 2, 300 students this year and faces a projected further decline of 1, 100 to 1, 800 students next year. For the teachers now declared surplus, staffing will not be finalized until September, once enrolment is confirmed and boards know how many students are in classrooms and how many teachers are needed.
