WEBSITE: http://michaelsims.ca

EMAIL: michael@michaelsims.ca

PHONE: 416-457-5848

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1. Why are you the best candidate for trustee?
I am a father of three small children and a homeowner in Trinity-Spadina. My children will soon be entering the public school system and I understand the concerns of parents in this ward, because I am one. The Toronto District School Board has only a few parents of school-age children on the board, and it needs some input from people with a more direct stake in how the school system is run. I will do my best to make sure every child in Toronto gets the education that I want for my children.

2. What changes would you like to see at the school board in the next four years?
The TDSB is planning to close over 100 schools in the next few years, eliminating neighbourhood schools and creating giant regional mega-schools. The closed school properties will be sold off to developers. I oppose this plan and will do my best to stop it. Parents don’t want to have to drive their children to school every morning; they want local neighbourhood schools that are within walking distance. The current board is out of touch with the needs of parents and residents of the city.

3. What is your position on the TDSB consolidating under-enrolled schools and selling off closed school properties?
I oppose it entirely. Population density downtown is actually increasing, not decreasing. Selling off taxpayer-funded land to private developers is wasteful and short-sighted. Temporarily under-enrolled schools can be turned into neighbourhood hubs, with extra space rented out for community purposes such as senior centres and recreation spaces. Then as school enrollment continues to climb, we will be able to accommodate it. The TDSB has not been able to prove its case for shutting down schools and selling the land to developers. We need to stop them before it?s too late.

4. Do you support the province’s decision to try to negotiate two-year, no wage increase contracts with the school board’s unionized employees when existing agreements expire, including those with the school board’s unionized employees?
The provincial government has given huge tax breaks to businesses, while raising taxes on individuals through implementation of the HST. Now the province has announced that they will try to slash the wages of all provincial employees, including teachers. Ontario has plenty of money to bail out shareholders of the automobile industry, but none to pay the salaries of teachers? The province should not be balancing its budget on the backs of workers while cutting taxes for large corporations.

5. Please provide personal details on your bio.
Michael Sims immigrated to Toronto from New York City in 2004. Mr. Sims is a proud recipient of Toronto’s Clean and Beautiful City Award for his innovative city-wide initiative to have local artists paint murals on telephone boxes as a means of deterring graffiti. He studied engineering at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City. He has worked as a computer programmer and journalist, and is in the process of writing a book about fatherhood and twins. He lives near Trinity-Bellwoods Park, and is often at the playground with children in tow.