GUELPH, Ontario – At the June 27, 2023, Board Meeting, the Upper Grand District School Board passed the 2023-2024 school year budget.
The approved 2023-2024 Operating Expenditures Budget is $455,486,186. The approved 2023-2024 Capital Projects Budget is $38,074,756.
The approved Budget Report reflects the priorities identified in the UGDSB Multi-Year Plan (MYP):
Deliver foundational education and student achievement
Inspire a love of lifelong learning
Champion health and wellbeing
Ensure equity of access and outcomes
Lead through sustainability
“By focusing our investments on Upper Grand students and on the priorities of the MYP, we hope to achieve Vision 2026, which is to be recognized as educational leaders in creating unparalleled, agile and inclusive learning experiences for all,” said UGDSB Chair Ralf Mesenbrink.
To further support the implementation of the MYP, the Draft Budget includes additional investments to support math and literacy over and above the committed funding provided by the Ministry of Education. These investments are significant, they are strategically targeted, they are evidenced based and they are time bound. The board will utilize available accumulated surplus to address the budget shortfall of $6.5 million.
“We have seen incredible progress made this year with our focus on literacy supports and Early Reading Teachers, both in gains made by students and rich learning among staff,” said UGDSB Director of Education Peter Sovran. “This budget will allow us to continue that focused work in literacy and increase our focus on math instruction.”
Provincial Funding
Ministry of Education funding to school boards is based in large part on student enrolment numbers. The 2023-24 budget projects an increase of more than 200 students for the 2023-2024 school year.
The 2023-2024 Grants for Student Needs (GSN) from the province are $14.8 million higher than 2022-2023 Budget. The GSN amount includes adjustments for enrolment and benchmark changes, changes to Student Transportation funding model and transfers of amounts previously in Priorities and Partnerships Funds. These changes were partially offset by the discontinuation of the COVID-19 Supports – Additional Staffing funding.
The board allocations of the Priorities and Partnerships Fund (PPF) reflects an increase of $2.8 million. This increase includes additional supports for Math, Reading and supporting De-Streaming and transition to secondary school.
Other funding sources decreased (-$975K), primarily due to lower enrolment of International Students.
The full budget report will be available on the UGDSB website at Finance.