No doubt the philosophers at Social Planning Toronto mean well when they suggest that affluent parents should no longer be permitted to raise money so the local school can give their kids the best education. This is what the “non-profit” body is suggesting and the Toronto School Board is nibbling at the bait. Schools in South Bayview do quite well at raising money so their pupils can benefit in ways which, perhaps, other children cannot. It is an inequity, for sure. And for Social Planning Toronto, inequity is the enemy. But our society lives in a real world that is full of economic inequities. Inequity is inevitable. The question is not whether there are inequities, but whether those inequities are unconscionable. There is a world of difference between trying to address unfairness and trying to make every school, kid and parent the same. There is no lack of compassion in South Bayview. People here are among the most decent in the City. It is wrong for educators to say that we’re “on dangerous ground” as things stand. If they want dangerous ground, the Utopian notion that donations should be pooled and spread around like taxes is a good place to start. For starters, donations would dry up. Indeed, some of the ideas floated are so outrageous it is hard to take them seriously. But it is safe to say, that if any such foolishness becomes policy, there will be a veritable earthquake among trustees at the next election.
