A former Toronto politician and a school board trustee are raising funds to restore the historic elements of a Toronto school that was ravaged by two fires this week, saying the building’s legacy must be preserved.
Alan Tonks, a former member of parliament, and his son Chris Tonks, a trustee with the Toronto District School Board, have launched an online campaign to collect $25,000 for York Memorial Collegiate Institute.
They say the money would supplement any amount obtained through insurance or provincial funding and be used to restore or recreate some of the school’s historic artwork, such as its stained glass windows.
York Memorial was built in 1929 as a tribute to the youth killed in the First World War, and was designated as a heritage building in the 1980s.
A fire broke out at the school on Monday afternoon followed by a second, six-alarm blaze Tuesday.
Students were sent to nearby George Harvey Collegiate Institute on Tuesday but classes at that school were cancelled for today in light of the second fire.