TVDSB says $1.2 billion preliminary 2024-25 budget outlines significant pressures but 'no job loss'

TVDSB budget announcement The Thames Valley District School Board says no one will lose their job, but budget cuts are being made. CTV London's Reta Ismail reports.

The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) released its $1.2 billion preliminary budget for the 2024-2025 school year.

Linda Nicholls, associate director of education with the TVDSB said the most important takeaway from the 2024-2025 budget is there will be no job loss for any permanent employee of Thames Valley.

“Everyone will remain within their job classification, they may have a new job assignment, but they will still have the same job classification,” said Nicholls.

The budget outlines ‘significant budget pressures’ that the board says are outside of its control.

Those pressures include unfunded statutory benefits, short-term supply costs for absences, and special education costs, amounting to $30 million.

The budget shows a net reduction of 126.7 staff as a result of funding cuts, reallocation, and attrition. These are full time positions that will become vacant. The board says it will not be filling these positions at this time.

Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Thames Valley Teacher Local President Craig Smith said we won’t really know the impact of this reduction until the fall.

“What we do know at this point is that it’s very tight in terms of finding places for teachers,” said Smith, adding that part of the challenge the board is facing is continued cuts in funding from the provincial government.

The board said it receives most of its funding from the province, the majority of which is restricted by mandated class sizes, staffing ratios, and contractual labour obligations.

TVDSB said the preliminary $7.6 million deficit budget presented “represents a fiscally responsible, prudent and measured response towards a balanced budget, based on insufficient funding, while still advancing the strategic priorities.”

“Our goal with this budget is to be compliant, and for us that means under $10 million, and we’ve come in with a preliminary budget of $7.5 million deficit. That’s important to us, because we have to strive towards having a compliant budget or balanced budget within two years,” explained Nicholls.

Nicholls said all central departments reviewed and reduced operating expenses by approximately $3 million.

“If funding shortfalls continue, we will continue to face serious challenges serving the needs of Thames Valley schools, staff, and communities,” said Lori-Ann Pizzolato, chair, Planning and Priorities Advisory Committee.

The board will give the budget a final approval on June 25.

TVDSB is the fourth largest school board in Ontario, providing education for more than 84,000 students with 14,000 staff at 159 schools across 7,000 square kilometers.