GECDSB proposes $185k budget surplus

(CTV News Windsor file image)

The Greater Essex County District School Board is projecting a $185,000 budget surplus in the 2026-27 school year.

Board staff presented the $536.3 million operating budget at a special committee meeting on Tuesday night.

Throughout the meeting, the forecasted decrease in student enrolment was repeatedly mentioned, as it affects the level of funding that school boards receive from the provincial government.

For the 2026-27 school year, the board is projecting an enrollment of about 33,526 students, a decrease of 1,173 students compared to the current year.

The decrease makes the board eligible for $5.1 million in “bridge funding” to help adjust cost structures to lower enrolment levels.

Shelley Armstrong, the Superintendent of Business, Treasurer and Facility Services, noted lower enrolment has been a trend across the province.

“These trends are influenced by lower immigration levels, individuals moving out of Ontario, families having fewer children, families delaying registering their youngest learners in school as full-day kindergarten is not mandatory in Ontario,” Armstrong said.

Following successive budget deficits in 2024-25, the board was required to create a Multi-Year-Financial Recovery Plan to avoid possible supervision by the Ministry of Education.

While the board is on track to meet the requirements, Armstrong noted the plan was among the “complex” challenges faced in this budget cycle.

“We are dealing with declining student enrolment, we are dealing with requirements and the directives under the board’s multi-year financial recovery plan, we must comply with the requirements under Bill 101, and we also have the expiration of collective agreements,” Armstrong said.

Due to dwindling enrolment, the board’s report did note an expected reduction in staffing positions.

However. GECDSB CEO Vicki Houston says it’s too soon to know whether it will translate to job cuts.

“It doesn’t mean they’re going to be without a job. So, I don’t want the public to believe that teachers are losing their jobs. We’re not there. We’re still in the thick of staffing right now, so they may be reallocated to somewhere else.” Houston said.

Trustees will meet for a public board meeting on June 23, where the budget will be tabled.