Ottawa’s public school board is projecting a multi-million-dollar budget deficit this school year, in part due to declining enrolment in elementary schools. A report for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s (OCDSB) audit committee meeting tonight shows the board is projecting an $11.5 million budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year, the fifth straight year the board will be in the red. The former Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustees approved the 2025-26 budget last June with $18 million in cuts. In the report, staff say there were “two major issues” with the 2025-26 budget that resulted in the projected $11.5 million deficit. “The first was an alignment issue which reflects that budget provisions were not reported in a manner that allowed for a comparison with actual costs. This issue was highlighted during the presentation of the 2024-2025 financial results, where it appeared to show excessive savings related to textbooks and school supplies when in reality the approved budget was expected to be used for other purposes,” staff said. “The second area of concern was that a number of provisions were either non-existent or substantially understated.” Staff say elementary school enrolment was 868 students lower than budgeted, resulting in a $5.6 million loss in revenue. Other financial pressures on the OCDSB this school year include $1.9 million more in spending on replacement teachers, a $4.7 million increase for “student-focused positions including educational assistants,” $8.8 million more on maintaining OCDSB schools and a $1.4 million increase in funding for board administration costs. The report does say there is an $11.1 million decrease in teacher costs due to 77 fewer classroom teachers needed for elementary schools. Staff warn the $11.5 million budget deficit will “further deteriorate” the school board’s financial position, noting the board is currently operating with a $12.1 million deficit in its surplus budget. “The projected unrestricted portion of the accumulated deficit at the end of 2025-2026 is $21.2 million,” staff said. “The District must not only eliminate the unrestricted accumulated deficit, but it must grow this amount to roughly three per cent of the annual operating allocation. An ideal unrestricted accumulated surplus target would be in the range of $35 million to $40 million.” The Ontario government appointed Robert Plamondon as supervisor of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board last June after the board posted four straight deficit budgets. The board ran a $5.4 million deficit during the 2024-25 school year. In a letter to parents last month, Plamondon said the board was introducing a “Student-Focused Resource Optimization” project, which is intended to transform “how we operate so we can better serve students.” Plamondon said the 2026-27 budget will focus on ”long overdue” reforms within the school board. “It is not about simply trimming expenses, but about transforming how we operate so we can better serve students,” Plamondon said. “This initiative moves well beyond simple budget trimming with an overarching goal of ensuring that every dollar and service directly supports the classroom,” Plamondon said. “To build a budget that meets this goal, we are evaluating all of our resources and structures to gauge their impact on student achievement and well-being. Through this process, we will streamline board administration to remain firmly student focused.”
