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September 13, 2012
Toronto Churches Face Eviction As School Rental Fees Skyrocket
School board decides churches no longer qualify for subsidized nonprofit rates.
Canadian churches in Toronto may face eviction if they fail to pay increased rent to the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) -- even as those payments increase up to 800 percent.
The TDSB announced on August 29 that churches renting space in public schools would no longer qualify for reduced rental rates. Other nonprofits still qualify for subsidized rent, but churches have been removed as the school district seeks to close a sizable budget gap.
Churches have scrambled to determine their options. In some cases, the recent change will result in rent increases of up to 800 percent.
Some pastors gathered to protest the rental fee hikes, claiming the increase to be an attack on churches, but other pastors prayed over the school board for divine intervention.
The move is part of a 2012-2013 district budget, approved in June, that will attempt to close a $110 million budget gap.
CT previously covered the similar situation of churches in New York City, a long-running case that questioned whether or not schools could evict churches and went before the U.S. Supreme Court in December 2011. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case, so in June a New York district court judge issued a permanent injunction, allowing churches to continue meeting in schools.
Comments
Not all religious activity is God initiated. What God calls us to do He will supply all that is needed to bring it about.
Posted By: pam knight | September 13, 2012 4:34 PM
This article leaves me with a lot of questions. It would have been helpful if Ms. Steffan had given some idea of what the average rental fee is at the reduced rate. 800% is a mammoth increase, but it would still be good to know the original fee. For persons not living in North America it would also be interesting to know why other non-profits "qualify" for subsidized rent but not Churches. What are the "qualifications" and why is it that Churches do not measure up? Last question, why do some pastors believe the fee hike to be "an attack on Churches" when the stated purpose is to "close the budget gap"?
Posted By: Steve Skeete | September 14, 2012 4:17 PM
TDSB’s Bad Economics
The TDSB justifies these draconian measures as the means to solve its budget shortfall. It claims these new rent increases will “allow the board to increase its revenue and decrease its costs by $2.2 million.” However, a more likely result is that Church groups will run for the exits, abandoning TDSB facilities in favor of cheaper alternatives, such as schools run by Toronto’s Catholic School Board. Clearly, if everyone abandons TDSB facilities, rental revenue will be zero! This raises the specter that the net effect of TDSB’s rent increases could be a massive back-fire. It’s simple Economics 101. If you double the rental price and the amount of rentals falls by over 50% the total rental revenue will fall. In that case rental revenue has not increased, it’s decreased! If this happens, instead of solving TDSB’s budget problems, the budget short-fall is increased by TDSB’s counter-productive measures. Given the magnitude of the increased rents faced by cash-strapped Church groups, many of whom are working poor and/or recent immigrants, this scenario is a real possibility. The Toronto School Board should reconsider its policy change--Nigel Tomes (Toronto)
Posted By: Nigel Tomes | September 15, 2012 9:59 PM
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