Ottawa’s public school board faces multi-million-dollar budget pressure from empty desks, inflation

The OCDSB says it remains hopeful a deal can still be reached before Wednesday.

Empty desks in schools, the costs for substitute teachers and inflation are creating a multi-million-dollar budget pressure on Ottawa’s public school board.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) will receive a report tonight called “Financial Sustainability Plan and Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Landscape,” as trustees prepare to begin debate on the 2025-26 budget.

Trustees have been told they will need to find up to $20 million in savings to balance the budget for the next school year.

“The district will need to produce a balanced budget, which will have significant reductions from previous years to address the chronic underfunding in some areas of the funding formula,” says the report. “The areas that remain for reduction are limited as the organization has reduced expenses since the end of the pandemic period.”

“The OCDSB must also commit to better business practices and a continued effort to align revenues and expenses to carefully eliminate structural deficits.”

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A report, prepared by OCDSB associate director of education Randall Gerrior, outlines key pressures the OCDSB is facing that are not covered by Ontario government funding, as it aims to avoid a deficit budget for a fifth straight school year.

The cost pressures include $20 million being taken from programs to support the maintenance of underutilized schools across the district. Gerrior says the OCDSB has over “17,000 vacant pupil places, which are significantly consolidated in some areas.”

“The funding formula for the operations of the Facilities Department is based on a per pupil amount, meaning the organization is not properly funded to support the administrative infrastructure and operating costs of under-utilized schools,” Gerrior said in the report. “The district does not receive enough funding to heat, cool, clean, remove snow, and provide the necessities for maintenance of those buildings.”

More than 30 OCDSB elementary schools have an occupancy level below 70 per cent, according to documents released during the elementary program review.

The OCDSB is facing a budget pressure of $16.8 million to cover costs for replacing staff. Gerrior says the current budget for staff replacement costs is $31.5 million, but the Ministry of Education funding covers $14.7 million.

“Staff have seen improvements in these expenses based on wellness programs and other return-to-work initiatives,” Gerrior said in the report. “The district will continue to invest in these programs, but this remains one of the single largest underfunded pressures for the organization, and continued advocacy is required to align funding with expenses.”

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Inflation is expected to add a $12 million pressure to the 2025-26 budget, with Gerrior saying the funding “must be found from other areas.”

“The rising cost of living is also part of contract negotiations, with unions positioning for higher wages for its members which adds further pressure to the ability to meet the operational needs of schools and central buildings,” Gerrior said. “While it is difficult to put an exact amount on the amount of pressure that inflation is having on school boards, it is safe to say that the 2 per cent that the ministry provides on some envelopes is far below both Consumer Price Index (CPI) and experienced increases in core services like cleaning supplies, snow removal, and software contracts which have gone up over 30-50 per cent in the past two years.”

Other budget pressures facing the OCDSB include $10 million for statutory benefits for OCDSB staff, $2.2 million for portables and funding for special education supports.

Budget savings for 2025-26

The report says the OCDSB has found $6 million in savings through a review of professional development, guest speakers, travel and other expenses not related to the classrooms.

A program review and a benchmarking study to identify positions that are “outside other districts and funding models,” are anticipated to find $15 million to $20 million in reductions over the next two years.

“The district should also see the divestment of some surplus properties to help generate revenue to cover the deficit and rebuild some of the reserves,” Gerrior said.

In March, the board approved a plan to cut more than 150 teaching and administrative positions, which could save more than $15 million.

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Ministry of Education funding

Staff at the OCDSB are reviewing recent Ontario government funding announcements

The Ministry of Education announced last week the OCDSB will receive $1.079 billion in funding for the new school year, up from $1.047 billion for the 2024-25 school year. The $31 million in extra funding includes an additional $18.9 million for classroom staffing, $3.1 million for special education funding and $2.8 million for student transportation.

“While the Ministry of Education continues to share that they are investing record amounts in public education, there remains a shortfall between the funds provided for centrally approved pay raises and the actual costs for these raises,” says the OCDSB report.

“Further, the most recent additional funds are not new additions to the school board budgets that allow for additional investments in the classroom.”