Ontario school supply portal draws criticism over pricing errors

Ontario’s education minister says a new provincial portal for teachers is meant to offer lowercost classroom supplies, but he acknowledged there may be pricing mistakes after some items appeared to cost more than they do in regular stores. The issue surfaced after a Toronto teacher, Kimiko Shibata, compared prices on the new Staplesrun portal with public store prices and found some basics, including markers and pencil crayons, were listed at higher amounts. She later said some prices were lowered after she flagged the discrepancy online. The province says the portal gives elementary homeroom teachers up to $750 to spend on approved supplies, while parttime teachers receive less. Staples said it is reviewing price concerns and aims to keep portal prices at or below regular website prices. Opposition Leader Marit Stiles criticized the deal and questioned why Staples was chosen to run the service.