OCDSB ‘almost didn’t make payroll’ as it struggles with budget deficits

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Parent Jordan Leblanc urged trustees to reconsider the decision or provide clarity on how the needs of special education students would be met if the program was cancelled.

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“These students deserve every opportunity to thrive — not fewer,” he said.

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Blackburn’s motion passed, with seven voting in favour and four against.

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According to a report before the school board, boards have a legal requirement under the Education Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code to provide students with educational opportunities, but most boards don’t get enough funding from the province.

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The OCDSB has some programs that are considered “somewhat Cadillac,” and runs some special education programs that other school boards don’t run, Gerrior said.

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“We have other programs that we support our students with that are more expensive, and we have to make some tough decisions,” he said.

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A more detailed list of recommended cuts, adding up to about $20 million on the $1.2-billion budget, will be before trustees on June 10. Some of the cuts have already been made, including a plan to eliminate 150 jobs, approved in March in time to meet a collective agreement requirement, trustees heard at a budget meeting on May 28.

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Trustee Lyra Evans sought assurances that trustees would be offered choices in what to cut.

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But Gerrior said the OCDSB was facing $80 million in cost pressures and there was no ability to produce a “buffet of options” with room to manoeuvre.

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“We are struggling to find things that we would recommend to the board to reduce what has the least amount of impact on classrooms and marginalized groups and still operate this organization in a credible, functional way,” Gerrior said.

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“If you want to make a change to a certain program or activity, there’s community involvement. Sometimes, there are students who are already in the program that you have to phase out. There’s so many factors.” he said. “So to think we could present you with $30 million worth of options for you to pick $20 million, that’s just not a realistic way we could so this.”

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Meanwhile, on April 23, the Ministry of Education announced it was appointing a financial investigator to “validate” the OCDSB’s financial position after four deficit budgets in a row, with the potential to head into a fifth such year.

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The investigator was to report on findings by the end of May. If the report is unfavourable, provincial Education Minister Paul Calandra may appoint a supervisor to take administrative control of the board, with authority to take whatever action the supervisor believes is necessary to manage school board affairs.

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Among the OCDSB’s cost pressures:

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Staff replacement costs: The OCDSB spent $31.5 million in costs for supply teachers and other replacement staff this school year. It’s an improvement from previous years, credited to investments in wellness programs and return-to-work initiatives. However, this is still one of the OCDSB’s single largest under-funded costs. The Ministry of Education pays about $14.7 million to pay for replacement staff, leaving to board to pay $16.8 million.