GUELPH, Ontario – The Upper Grand District School Board has passed the 2020-2021 school year budget.
The budget is compliant with Ministry requirements. Trustees approved an Operating Budget of $416,337,588. The 2020-21 Capital Budget was approved at $49,126,629. The Board also approved the use of $2,014,455 from accumulated surplus to balance the Operating Budget.
Provincial context
The Ministry of Education announced changes that impacted staffing on March 3, 2020. In June, the Ministry of Education provided information related to the Grants for Student Needs (GSN) and Priorities and Partnerships Fund (PPF). In late July, the provincial government announced additional investments to support school reopening. This announcement was followed by a Ministry memo on August 4 that contained additional details related to this funding.
Class size changes that will lower funding have been implemented for Grades 9-12. In addition, students will be required to take two online credits to graduate from secondary school, effective for all students entering grade 9 in September 2020. There are exemptions to the Ministry requirement for online courses and these exemptions will impact staffing requirements.
To recognize school boards’ sick leave experience, the Ministry is increasing the supply teacher benchmark by one additional day. The benchmark for the non-staff portion of School Operations will increase by two percent to recognize increasing commodity prices (e.g. electricity, natural gas, facility insurance and other costs). The funding for student transportation will be consistent with the prior year, adjusted for enrolment growth.
The Ontario government is supporting the reopening of schools through funding to support a range of investments including, public health nurses, masks and personal protective equipment, additional staff, enhanced cleaning supplies for schools and school buses, supports for students with special needs, additional health and safety training, mental health supports and testing for COVID-19. Although further funding details are still pending, the August 4th Ministry memo identified $1.6 million of additional funding.
Accountability and limitations
The Ministry will impose cash flow constraints on boards that do not comply with Full Day Kindergarten and Primary Class Size requirements. The Ministry requires that boards submit a balanced budget or a budget where the deficit does not exceed the lesser of accumulated surplus or one per cent of operating allocations. On August 13th, the Ministry announced that school boards can incur an in-year deficit up to two percent of operating allocations for the 2020-2021 year only. This increase use of accumulated surplus can be used to support smaller class sizes. The Ministry also provides limitations on how expenditures are allocated.
In the Upper Grand DSB
The UGDSB’s 2020-21 Grants for Student Needs (GSN) are $14.5 million higher than 2019-20 budget. The GSN amount includes adjustments for enrolment and benchmark changes as well as changes to secondary class sizes and the addition of Supports for Students Fund (SSF).
The Pupil Foundation Grant reflects the change in secondary class size from 22:1 to 23:1. In 2019-2020, the Pupil Foundation Grant listed secondary class size at 28:1, however Attrition Protection Funding was available to help school boards avoid layoffs due to the change in secondary class size.
One area of revenue decrease is due to projected lower enrolment in the International Students Program.
The UGDSB enrolment projections for 2020-21 indicate slight growth in the elementary panel and growth in the secondary panel. Elementary staffing increases by 18.9 FTE, largely due to the Support for Students Fund. There is a decrease of 3.16 FTE teachers in secondary, primarily due the change in the secondary class size funding and reduction in projected international student enrolment.
The budget was developed according to the Board’s Guiding Principles for Budget, focusing the allocation of human and financial resources on the success and well-being of every child, with an emphasis on the Board Improvement Plan for Student Needs, high quality teaching, equity, and strong leadership in all areas of the organization.
The board has added 14.5 FTE Special Education Assistants, funded through the Support for Students Fund. There is an increase in Speech & Language Support of 2.3 FTE, Child & Youth Counsellors of 3.4 FTE, and 1.5 FTE in Social Workers. Staffing levels for Library and Guidance remain consistent. There is an increase in Human Resources FTE with an additional position to support the school board’s equity initiatives. There is an increase in School Operations of 6.0 FTE for maintaining safe and clean learning environments for students and staff, which will be funded from the Supports for Students/Investments in Systems Priority Fund.
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