Josh Matlow, TDSB Trustee

Josh Matlow talks about City Hall, Queen's Park, the school board and all things political on the John Downs Show - every Monday at 8pm.

Against the wishes of a growing lobby of angry parents, Toronto public school trustees will move a step closer to closing 23 school pools when it votes tonight on a motion to lay off 32 lifeguards at the end of June.

While they are legally required to give the lifeguards notice, the trustees should also support a motion from trustee Josh Matlow to reopen the debate and begin looking for other ways to pay for the pools, including an appeal to the private sector for help.

Board chair John Campbell says he will vote against Matlow's motion, but he adds that parents and others don't need the board's support to begin fundraising drives to keep the pools open at their schools. True, but by supporting the motion trustees would be sending a positive signal to those behind these efforts.

Toronto is the only Ontario city where pools were built in schools instead of community centres. But when it lost its ability to levy school taxes in 1998, the school board had to find other sources to cover the $12 million annual cost of operating the pools. And in a classic case of buckpassing, the province says pools are a municipal matter, while the city says it is the province's problem.

From Matlow's perspective, the matter should be kept open until June, when the board votes on its overall budget, to give everyone involved time to "look under every rock" for the money to fund the pools. That seems like a sensible proposal.

School Pools

EDUCATION: Protest planned against proposed school pool closures

TDSB to close 23 school pools in June | CFRB

Toronto Star

Cuts in homework proposed

Toronto Star

An Afrocentric school proponent has written a letter of apology after a Jewish trustee said she used anti-Semitic language.

The Motts speak with Josh Matlow about having Toronto students shovel snow as part of their school program. The Motts speak with Toronto District School Board Trustree Josh Matlow about a Toronto student school program that dictates that they must spend 40 hours doing community service and how shoveling snow could be included to help the community.

Homework a homewrecker: Report
Toronto Star
Trustee Josh Matlow believes the process will lead to profound changes in the way homework is dealt with in Toronto schools.

Ethno-Centric School in Toronto
Madely in the Morning - 8:10am --- Steve Madely is joined by Josh Matlow, Toronto District School Booard Trustee. He opposes the proposal for a black-focused school in Toronto.
mp3 (click here to download)

Ethno-Centric School in Toronto
Madely in the Morning - 8:10am --- Steve Madely is joined by Josh Matlow, Toronto District School Booard Trustee. He opposes the proposal for a black-focused school in Toronto.
mp3 (click here to download)

A decision concerning whether to establish Africentric Schools is to be made tonight by Toronto District School Board Trustees.

The TDSB proposes an Africentric school be opened in September of next year. Also proposed are pilot projects in three schools starting this September.

Trustees will hear and respond to deputations from 17 people, before debating and deciding.

They'll also discuss an alternative proposal by Trustee Josh Matlow. He suggests rather than opening an Africentric school, the board focus on increasing cultural studies of a whole host of heritage groups in existing schools in the regular curriculum and in optional classes.

Matter of trust
School safety tome shockingly calls for a narrowing of trustees’ role

TDSB Staff Recommend Black-Focused School
TORONTO/AM640 TORONTO - The controversy over black-focused schools in Toronto is heating up once again.

Toronto District School Board senior staff are recommending creating at least one black-focused school in Toronto's northwest end, and implementing black-focused curriculum at three others. The schools would be open to all students.

Budget Chief and former School Board Chair Shelley Carroll tells AM 640 Toronto's John Downs show that it's an idea worth serious consideration.

"The time has come, we have to do something. They've been looking at it for some time and they're backing it up with serious data."

But School Board Trustee Josh Matlow disagrees, saying schools should be preparing students for the real world.

"I think it narrows their academic experience...that's not the real world in Canada. Canada's about coming together, working together and learning about each other."

The board will decide whether to move ahead with the idea at the end of the month.

Shelley Carroll Toronto City Councilor, former Toronto District School Board Chair
Josh MatlowToronto District School Board Trustee
Shelley Carroll and Josh Matlow stop by to discuss the Toronto District School Board's recommendation on an Afro-Centric school.

Josh Matlow Toronto District School Board Trustee
Josh joins us today, as he does every Monday evening to help cut through the spin and get to the heart of what's happening in Toronto's schools. This week Josh is concerned about the fate of the city's school aquatic facilities, which will be shut down mid February if they can't negotiate with the province to secure the required funds.

Bruce Davis Toronto District School Board Trustee
Bruce joins in the discussion about Toronto's school pools, and helps crunch the numbers.

And of course, John puts it to you, the listener - and asks you if you think the province should be on the hook for the TDSB owned-and-operated pools.

AM 640 Toronto Radio-Josh Matlow Toronto District School Board's trustee for St. Paul's

The thousand-page, $800,000 document highlights more than 170 incidents of sexual assault, kids with guns, robberies and fear among students and teachers. And it doesn't mince words on who the members believe is to blame. John Downs and Josh Matlow take your calls and talk about the good, bad and weird parts about the TDSB report.

Police have charged the former principal and two vice-principals at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate under Ontario's Child and Family Services Act with failing to report an alleged sexual assault on a student. Guest - Toronto District School Board Trustee - Josh Matlow Trustee for St. Paul's

Josh Matlow Toronto District School Board Trustee
Our friend Josh joins the the show live in studio to talk about the prospect of carbon taxes, the fallout of climate change, and for some good old fashioned debate with AM 640 Business Analyst Lou Schizas.

Josh Matlow, TDSB Trustee for Ward 11, St. Paul's
*As new neighbours go, the Toronto police could be considered desirable. But that depends on your neighbourhood. While parts of this city cry out for a more muscular police presence, a plan to move a pair of crumbling police stations onto the sites of two empty schools west of downtown has upset some of the prospective next-door neighbours.

Josh Matlow Trustee - Toronto District School Board
Frustrated and angry supporters of black-focused schools cause last night's TDSB meeting to degrade into a tence, crowded impromptu protest once they learned that the issue was, in fact, not on the agenda.

Josh Matlow Trustee - Toronto District School Board
According to a recent report, seven out of ten teens in Toronto public schools are not white, despite this, half of students surveyed say they aren't taught enough about different cultures.

School Built By Private Developer
Andy Barrie spoke with our city politics reporter, David Michael Lamb, about North Toronto Collegiate Institute.
Listen.

(Runs 6:43)

Earlier controversy put to bed with fresh blueprint of spiriting venue
Toronto Town Crier Newspapers

John's heating up the radio waves tonight, with the help of the following people:

Josh Matlow Toronto District School Board Trustee for St. Paul's. An English judge has announced that Al Gore's Oscar-winning climate change documentary can be shown in secondary schools in England, despite the High Court judge's opinion that it promotes partisan political views. No such ruling was needed for Toronto, as many schools in the Toronto District School Board are already showing the global warming documentary in the classroom. Should students be subjected to this movie? Is not a partisan view?

A Toronto District School Board trustee is speaking out against a decision to spend several thousand dollars on a fact-finding mission to China. CTV news

Josh Matlow Toronto District School Board Trustee for St. Paul’s. Toronto police have arrested four youths and are looking for two more suspects in connection with an alleged sexual assault on a Grade 9 girl. The attack happened at C.W. Jefferys high school, the same school where 15-year-old Jordan Manners was shot and killed last May. During the investigation into the death of Manners, allegations came to light that a Grade 9 female student had been the victim of a sexual assault in October 2006.

David Miller Mayor of the City of Toronto. Mayor David Miller says he wants Toronto community centres open on Mondays. Faced with a huge backlash from Torontonians over his program to save money by closing centres one day a week, Miller today said he'll introduce a motion at city council next week that will ask city staff to reinstate full service at the centres. Part-time staff affected by the closures will have to be notified, which means the centres likely won’t be fully open until Oct. 15, he said.

Challenging the root causes of youth violence
By JOSH MATLOW, Guest Columnist for the Toronto Sun
While the 2007 Ontario election has already made education a focus of attention, our city's youth-at-risk, whom all three party leaders tell us they intend to support, have been tragically left on the sidelines of the debate.

Ontario school boards to receive $309 million over next two years
Welland Tribune

School Pools

EDUCATION: Protest planned against proposed school pool closures

TDSB to close 23 school pools in June | CFRB