Ottawa-Carleton District School Board will have its finances reviewed by the province

What happened: The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board could see its budget taken over by the province after the Ministry of Education appointed an investigator to look over its finances. 

The direction was announced by Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra on Wednesday. He said the reason was that the OCDSB has run a deficit for the last four years and is possibly projecting another for the next school season. The board says there is a possible $20-million shortfall if it can’t reduce its costs. 

“We know that it isn’t just about one or two bad decisions. It points to a broader problem; a pattern of mismanagement and misplaced priorities,” Calandra said at a Queen’s Park press conference. “I want to be very clear - I will be absolutely relentless in ensuring that school boards are accountable to students, parents and teachers.”

Background: The Ontario Education Act states school boards must produce a balanced budget. If not, it can appoint an investigator to review the financial books of the school board. 

• What they’re saying: OCDSB Chair Lynn Scott said the board will be cooperative with the investigation, but has noted part of the blame is on the province, in what she calls a “misalignment” between the funding formula and the board's staffing model. 

“The deficits in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 were related to pandemic response efforts, including maintaining daycare operations and technology infrastructure to support student learning,” Scott said in a statement to CTV. “The deficits in the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 fiscal years were largely due to shortfalls, specifically regarding retroactive payments related to Bill 124 and cost of living allowances. Our analysis indicates that a key driver of the shortfall is a misalignment between our staffing model and the current funding formula.”

Next steps: To try and help get the financials on track, the board has plans to cut 150 positions. It also plans to reduce transportation costs, and more cutbacks are expected before a final plan is voted on. 

• Yes, but: The board is unable to close schools, despite a handful which are below the required occupancy. Osgoode/Riverside South/Findlay Creek trustee Jennifer Jennekens told the Lookout she believes that is partly to blame. 

The OCDSB is among five school boards in Ontario on the ministry’s list to investigate. The findings are expected to be shared with the education minister on May 30. 

Changes to the OCDSB elementary program 

The OCDSB is currently facing sweeping changes to its elementary curriculum which have been scaled back after backlash from parents. While some school boundaries will change, the negative impact will be more minimal for some communities. It also significantly scales back the initial boundary and grade reconfiguration changes, “aiming to preserve community ties and reduce the number of K-3 and 4-8 schools.” 

Looking back: Initial plans saw a number of specialized programs get the axe, but now 116 will continue, including autism spectrum disorder, behaviour intervention, deaf/hard of hearing, and developmental disabilities classes, among others. 

Funding challenges: “Until we get to a model where the provincial government funds us appropriately, those kids need to be in specialized classes. If they're mainstreamed, they would need a lot more support in those classrooms and we simply don't have the people power right now. We don't have enough EAs, for instance,” said Barrhaven trustee Donna Blackburn, who was happy to see Barrhaven Public School keep its primary special needs class. 

• Jennekens agrees. As the parent of a special needs son, she said the provincial government needs to step up its support to fund support workers in a classroom. 

“Our children are our future, and I think it's been underfunded for some time. We also need to look at the moratorium that doesn't allow us to close any schools. That really made it challenging for the OCDSB staff in their elementary program review because they have to make sure our schools are viable,” said Jennekens. 

• By the numbers: Ontario is spending less on education than it used to. The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario — an independent watchdog — recently found that the province used to spend 24.8 per cent of the budget on education in 1990-91, a number that went down to 18.8 per cent in 2023-24, reported CBC. 

What will still be cut is alternative education. Blackburn was happy to see the change, calling them “boutique” schools. Jennekens said she trusts the data and believes all students should have access to a good education. 

“I think the philosophy that is shared within the alternative schools should be a philosophy throughout all of the district schools. And I think at the end of the day, it's about a good teacher/student relationship,” she said.