Powers and duties of School Board
139. (1) It is the duty of the School Board and it has power, (a) to require each board of education within the Metropolitan Area to prepare and submit to the School Board, from time to time as the School Board may prescribe, its proposals and recommendations with respect to the provision of adequate public elementary and secondary school accommodation within its jurisdiction, and the estimated cost thereof; (b) to review and consolidate all such proposals, in consultation with the boards of education, the Ministry and the Metropolitan Council and their respective officials, and to prepare and revise from time to time a composite proposal and the recommendations of the School Board for the provision of adequate public elementary, academic secondary and vocational secondary school accommodation for the Metropolitan Area as a whole; (c) to submit to the Metropolitan Council from time to time the composite proposal referred to in clause (b), together with all relevant information with respect thereto; (d) despite the provisions of this or any other Act, to review and to determine, in consultation with the respective boards of education, the boundaries of the attendance areas for those public elementary and secondary schools in the Metropolitan Area that are to be attended by resident pupils from more than one school section or secondary school district; (e) to appoint a director who holds a certificate of qualification as a supervisory officer, who shall be secretary-treasurer of the School Board, and such other officers and staff as may be considered expedient for the purposes of the School Board, to pay their salaries and, subject to the regulations, to prescribe their duties, and to provide and pay for office accommodation, furnishings, fuel, light, stationery, equipment, insurance and miscellaneous expenses, including travelling expenses of officers and members of the School Board, if authorized by the School Board; (f) if considered expedient, to pay to each member an allowance in such amount as may be determined by the School Board for each kilometre necessarily travelled in going to the meetings of the School Board from his or her home and in returning to his or her home; (g) to prepare, adopt and submit each year to the Metropolitan Council, on or before such date and in such form as the Metropolitan Council may prescribe, the estimates of the School Board for the current year for school purposes of all sums required to meet its expenditures and obligations under this Act, and such estimates, (i) shall set forth the estimated revenues and expenditures of the School Board, (ii) shall make due allowance for a surplus of any previous year that will be available during the current year, (iii) shall provide for a deficit of a previous year, (iv) shall provide for the amounts of principal and interest payable during the current year in respect of all outstanding debentures issued for school purposes, (v) may provide for expenditures for permanent improvements, as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Education Act, and for an allocation to a reserve fund, provided that the total of expenditures for permanent improvements referred to in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of the definition of “permanent improvement” in subsection 1 (1) of that Act and any sum allocated to a reserve fund do not exceed, for school purposes, an amount that would increase the sum that would be required to be raised by levy for school purposes, other than separate school purposes, in the Metropolitan Area if no such provision for expenditures and allocation were made, by an amount calculated at two mills in the dollar upon the total equalized assessments of the area municipalities for school purposes, according to the last revised assessment rolls. R.S.O. 1990, c. M.62, s. 139 (1); 1994, c. 27, s. 111 (2, 3). Limitation not applicable (1.1) The limitation on the sum that the School Board may include in its estimates for permanent improvements under subclause (1) (g) (v) does not apply to the amount of principal and interest payable in respect of a debenture if the Minister of Education and Training has agreed to pay that amount to the School Board. 1993, c. 23, s. 69 (1). Allowances (2) The School Board may pay, (a) to each member of the School Board an allowance in such amount as is determined by the School Board for members; (b) to each alternate member of the School Board an allowance in such amount as is determined by the School Board for alternate members; and (c) to the chair of the School Board, in addition to the allowance under clause (a) or (b), an allowance in such amount as is determined by the School Board for the chair. Allowance to vice-chair (3) The School Board may pay an allowance in such amount as is determined by the School Board in addition to the allowance payable under clause (2) (a) or (b) to the vice-chair of the School Board. Different allowances (4) An allowance payable to the chair may differ from that payable to the vice-chair. Decrease (5) The School Board may decrease the amount of an allowance determined under subsection (2) or (3) and the decrease is effective on the date specified by the School Board. Additional powers (6) The School Board may, (a) include in its estimates a sum for expenditures by or on behalf of one or more boards of education within the Metropolitan Area without designating such board or boards and, when such board or boards have been designated, pay amounts from such sum to or on behalf of such board or boards; (b) hold conferences with members and officers of the boards of education for the area municipalities and pay all or part of the costs incurred in connection with such conferences including all or part of the expenses of members and officers of the School Board and of the boards of education for the area municipalities; and (c) authorize the destruction of documents in accordance with the Education Act. R.S.O. 1990, c. M.62, s. 139 (2-6). Exceptional pupils with developmental handicaps (6.1) The School Board shall provide consulting services and support services to the boards of education in the Metropolitan Area and the Council in respect of special education programs and special education services for exceptional pupils with developmental handicaps. 1993, c. 11, s. 48. Apportionment by School Board (7) When the School Board submits its estimates for school purposes to the Metropolitan Council, the School Board shall also provide the Metropolitan Council with a statement of the portions of the amount required that the School Board has determined shall be apportioned to each area municipality in accordance with subsection (11). Reduction of apportionment (8) Where the estimates for school purposes of a board of education in the Metropolitan Area that are approved in whole or in part by the School Board have been reduced in accordance with clause 155 (1) (b) by the application of a surplus, the School Board shall reduce the apportionment for school purposes to the area municipality in which the board of education has jurisdiction in an amount computed in accordance with subsection (9). 1994, c. 27, s. 111 (4). Rules for reduction (9) The reduction of an apportionment under subsection (8) in relation to a specific year shall be calculated as follows: 1. Compute for the preceding year the proportion that the total rateable property for school purposes, other than separate school purposes, in the area municipality was of the total rateable property in relation to the Metropolitan Area. 2. Compute in respect of the preceding year the proportion that the estimates of the board of education approved by the School Board for school purposes was of the aggregate of the estimates of all of the boards of education approved by the School Board. 3. Divide the proportion computed under paragraph 1 by the proportion computed under paragraph 2. 4. Where the quotient computed under paragraph 3 is equal to or greater than one, the apportionment shall be reduced by an amount equal to the amount of the surplus mentioned in subsection (8). 5. Where the quotient computed under paragraph 3 is less than one, the apportionment shall be reduced by an amount computed by multiplying the surplus mentioned in subsection (8) by the quotient computed under paragraph 3. R.S.O. 1990, c. M.62, s. 139 (9); 1994, c. 27, s. 111 (5). Increase of apportionment (10) Where the estimates for school purposes of a board of education in the Metropolitan Area provide for a deficit of a previous year and the estimates have been approved by the School Board in whole or in part, the School Board shall increase the apportionment that would otherwise be made for school purposes to the area municipality in which the board of education has jurisdiction by an amount that does not exceed the amount of the deficit and, in determining the amount of the increase in the apportionment, the School Board shall give consideration to any circumstances that, in the opinion of the School Board, contributed to the size of the deficit and could not reasonably have been foreseen. Calculation of apportionment (11) For the purpose of determining the apportionment to the area municipalities in the Metropolitan Area of the sums required for school purposes, the School Board shall remove from the amount of its estimates submitted for school purposes to the Metropolitan Council under clause (1) (g) the portions of the surpluses to be used for reducing apportionments under subsection (8) and the portions of the deficits to be used for increasing apportionments under subsection (10) and shall apportion the remainder of the amount of the estimates for school purposes in the proportion that the total rateable property for school purposes, other than separate school purposes, in respect of each area municipality bears to the total rateable property in the Metropolitan Area for school purposes, other than separate school purposes, and each apportionment so determined shall then be adjusted by the School Board by reduction under subsection (8) or increase under subsection (10). 1994, c. 27, s. 111 (6). Transfer of balance of surplus (12) Every board of education shall transfer to the School Board an amount equal to the difference between the amount of the surplus of the board of education mentioned in clause 155 (1) (b) and an amount equal to the amount computed in respect of the board of education under subsection (9). Application of amount transferred (13) The School Board shall apply amounts transferred to it under subsection (12) to reduce the estimates submitted by it to the Metropolitan Council. Definitions (14) In this section, “commercial assessment” has the same meaning as in clause 248 (a) of the Education Act; (“évaluation des industries et des commerces”) “residential and farm assessment” has the same meaning as in clause 248 (b) of the Education Act; (“évaluation résidentielle et agricole”) “total equalized assessments of the area municipalities” means for public secondary school purposes and for public elementary school purposes the sum of the assessment upon which taxes are levied for such purposes in each area municipality in the year for which the estimates are approved in whole or in part by the School Board where the assessment of each area municipality is adjusted by the application of the latest equalization factor applicable thereto that is provided by the Minister; (“total des évaluations péréquées des municipalités de secteur”) “total rateable property”, (a) in relation to an area municipality, means the sum of, (i) residential and farm assessment, (ii) the quotient obtained by dividing the commercial assessment by 0.85, and (iii) the valuations of properties in respect of which a portion of the payments in lieu of taxes paid by the Crown in right of Canada or a province or any board, commission, corporation or other agency of the Crown in right of Canada or a province or by Ontario Hydro is required by law to be allocated for school purposes, in the area municipality, and (b) in relation to the Metropolitan Area, means the sum of the total rateable property of the area municipalities in the Metropolitan Area. (“total des biens imposables”) R.S.O. 1990, c. M.62, s. 139 (12-14).