Matthew Zaffino

Trustees, the Board, and the Province

As a CPA, I am very comfortable with numerical data. The first "important thing" would be working with the province to increase funding and find savings to restore financial stability to the TDSB so that it could be returned from provincial supervision. Once back under trustee control, the most important thing as a trustee would be a focus on student performance: we are down 2 grades in math and reading in Ontario based on PISA scores: I would be very focused on identifying board-level policy changes that lead to stronger student performance.

Bullying in Schools

Trustees play a role in setting policy and upholding policy in the event of escalations. I am not aware of any issues with current policy at the policy level (I am open to being persuaded otherwise), but what is often happening is the current policies are going under-enforced due to staffing shortages, and in some cases, errors in judgement by staff and administrators. I would prioritize adequate staffing funding to ensure no under-enforcement due to a lack of manpower and would also demand that existing rules be enforced.

Class Sizes and Staffing

Class sizes and staffing have a clear impact on student performance. Laws have changed allowing for larger class sizes and less EA support. I would work with other trustees and other school boards to advocate for the return of smaller class sizes. In addition, given my background as a CPA, I hope to find savings in other areas of board spending; the TDSB had $812M in 2025 expenses that were not salaries, wages or benefits. I would work to find savings in the $812M, and redirect a large portion of those savings to supporting better staffing.

Special Programs and Program Access

I want special education (spec ed) adequately supported. When spec ed is not adequately supported, it impacts all students: the spec ed students do not reach their full potential, and more disruptions occur in class, impacting non-spec ed students. This is a top funding priority for me. I grew up in a TDSB with a rich arts, music and languages offering. I believe this must be maintained. Programs like French immersion should be lottery-based when shortages occur. Admission to specialized art and music programs should be merit based.