Last Updated on: 2nd April 2014, 04:16 pm
If you’ve ever wondered why there are so many kids running around selling candy and raffle tickets to raise money for this or that trip or school supply instead of having that stuff covered like it’s supposed to be,here’s part of the problem.
The Toronto District School Board booked the Air Canada Centre last Wednesday to hold a professional development conference featuring lots of speakers and even musical performances by Nikki Yanofsky (the girl who did that Olympic song) and the Canadian Tenors (I know nothing about them or their music, and judging fromthis Disney movie sounding piece of averageness that I couldn’t make it through 2 minutes ofI think it’s going to stay that way).
The cost for all of this was reported to be at least $125000, but it started out much higher until it was scaled back when surprisingly, some people had a problem with it. And when I say much higher, how does $345000 sound? Even at the reduced rate I still have a problem with it, and I don’t even have kids in the system.
So how does one defend wastefulness such as this you may wonder. Well, like this it would appear.
Sheila Cary-Meagher, trustee for Ward 16, said the tens of thousands of dollars spent on the one-day event is money well spent.
“It’s an investment in better productivity. I mean, like, hello? What could be more sensible?” she said.
Well honestly, who am I to argue with such an intellectual position?
These are the people in charge of your children’s education, everyone. You may begin weeping now or wait until you’ve had a few drinks, the choice is yours.
“You cannot put a price on inspiration,” said Avis Glaze, among the speakers who will address teachers on Wednesday.
“There’s nothing more important than face-to-face communication. So I congratulate the director and the board for having the vision to bring people together. They will never forget this day,” said Glaze, a top educator who is the founding CEO of Ontario’s Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat.
You might not be able to put a price on inspiration, but you can most definitely put one on school taxes. And if this is where that money is going, then that price is way too high.