OCDSB approves 2025-26 budget with $18M in cuts

Ottawa-Carleton District School Board headquarters are pictured in this undated image. (CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa’s largest school board has finalized a budget that comes with more than $18 million worth of spending cuts.

Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) trustees approved the $1.2 billion budget for the next school year Tuesday night. It includes spending reductions of $4.98 million for special education, $5.97 million in administration spending and $4.22 million in reductions on instruction.

The cuts amount to less than two per cent of the overall budget but mean about 135 fewer full-time positions at the school board. Thirty kindergarten early childhood educator positions will be cut, along with 18 elementary teachers and three secondary school teachers.

The cuts come as the OCDSB seeks to avoid a fifth-straight budget deficit. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Education launched a financial investigation into the board.

Elementary school enrolment is expected to drop from 51,738 students in 2024-25 to 51,071 students in 2025-26, while secondary school enrolment is expected to increase from 26,077 students in 2024-25 to 26,149 students next school year.