At a Special Board meeting on Wednesday 26 August 2020, trustees approved the OCDSB 2020-2021 operating budget of $1,008.3 million, capital budget of $97.9 million and the use of $5.4 million in recently announced Ministry grants to address incremental instruction and school operation costs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For 2020-2021, the recommended budget reflects positive changes in the level of services for students while also addressing a number of one-time pressures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget contains previously approved increases in the number of teachers in response to enrolment growth, more specialized classes for students with special needs, increases to supports in Learning Support Services (LSS) including additional educational assistants (EA) and additional staffing to address the ongoing behavioural and mental health issues that are impacting students.
The 2020-2021 budget includes an expected deficit of $17.7 million, due to the combination of lower than expected revenues and increased expenses related to COVID-19. On 14 August 2020, the Ministry announced that school boards having sufficient accumulated surplus could have a deficit of 2% of the operating grants. Application of the increased authority will allow the District to use close to $17.7 million of its accumulated surplus.
The 2020-2021 Approved Budget is being prepared for publication. It will be posted on this page by 30 September 2020.
The following resources are provided for reference as part of the District's budget consultation and approval process.