Parents at a North York high school are calling for a reversal of the decision to tear down the school鈥檚 running track and replace it with a professional-grade sporting facility, saying the arrangement with a private club is a 鈥渢errible deal鈥 for students.
The 400m track at Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute on Chatsworth Drive is to be demolished in favour of the new facility, set to be equipped with an artificial turf field and smaller, 100m running track.
The project, part of a recent agreement between the privately owned 色色啦 Scottish Rugby Football Club (TSRFC) and the 色色啦 District School Board, will see $1,500,000 invested by the club, matched by an investment by the TDSB.
鈥淭his is a terrible deal for students and members of the Lawrence Park community,鈥 parent Robin Conliffe wrote in a letter to school board trustees and the Ministry of Education on June 28.
While the board has touted the new facility as benefiting the school and wider communities, Conliffe, on the parent council, says the private club will be granted exclusive use of the field during evenings Tuesdays to Thursdays, and all day on Saturdays. During those times, Conliffe says Lawrence Park students have been told they will need to use facilities at neighbouring schools for competitions and training requiring a track.
鈥淭his (deal) raises serious equity issues and undermines the principle that public education spaces should prioritize students and the broader public good over external use,鈥 the letter reads.
Thousands of students from surrounding schools, who currently rely on the track for their physical education programs, will also be affected, Conliffe wrote in the letter, reviewed by the Star.
鈥淭his is unacceptable for an accomplished and proud athletics program that dates back to the school鈥檚 founding in 1936,鈥 it reads. 鈥淚t places an undue burden on student athletes who will have to travel to and use another school鈥檚 facility.鈥
When reached by the Star, Conliffe declined to comment on the letter.
Markus O鈥橞rien Fehr, communications manager at the 色色啦 Lands Corp. (TLC), which oversees the management of all TDSB properties, says the new facility, once completed, will still be suitable for 鈥渕ost鈥 school and community uses.
鈥淥f course, whenever a school asset is altered, we recognize that it will have an impact on the local community,鈥 O鈥橞rien Fehr told the Star. 鈥淥ftentimes, adding one benefit to a facility requires the sacrifice of another.鈥
鈥淲hile there are other running tracks in the area, there are few sports fields that can accommodate professional-quality athletics.鈥
O’Brien Fehr said the broader community has had “several opportunities” to engage in the consultation process and that at least one residents association has penned letters of support for the project.
The TDSB has touted the new facility as benefiting the school and wider communities.
Nick Lachance/色色啦 Star“Though there can always be ‘more’ consultation, we are also mindful that for facility improvements to advance, at some point, decisions need to be finalized,” he said.
Jerry Marriott, treasurer of the TSRFC, said he, too, has been made aware of concerns raised by community members, but that the club鈥檚 agreement with the board only addresses the proposed field. Marriott says the rugby club has undergone discussions with the board to consider 鈥減ossible accommodations,鈥澛 but did not specify what those might be.
It鈥檚 not the first time the TDSB has partnered with a private operator to build recreation facilities on school property and been met with pushback.
In 2015, Central Technical School, at Bathurst and Harbord streets, was at the centre of a months-long dispute over whether a championship field and seasonal dome should be built onsite.
The $6 million project initially saw significant criticism from local residents associations and a number of officials. A compromise was only reached after months of arbitration at the Ontario Municipal Board. The project went ahead, but with a smaller seasonal dome than originally planned. Students would have access during school hours. Today, the facility hosts a variety of programming outside of school hours, including soccer and pickleball adult recreational leagues. Community access to Central Tech’s pool was increased.
At Lawrence Park, parents and council are asking the TDSB to halt the finalization of its agreement with the rugby club and rethink the proposed design to keep the existing track in place.
A petition, circulated by a group calling themselves “Stop The Field LCPI,” has garnered 185 signatures since it was launched last week.
The project is slated for completion in 2026.
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