Thames Valley District school board is tracking toward a $18.5 million budget deficit, almost three times more than it had predicted last spring, according to a new report released this week.
The Thames Valley District school board is tracking toward a $18.5-million budget deficit, almost three times more than it had predicted last spring, according to new figures.
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“My understanding is the deficit now is significantly different than we approved recently,” trustee Sherri Moore said at a debate this week. “It’s an alarming number to me.”
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School boards are allowed to have a budget deficit of up to one per cent without approval from the education ministry. With the projected deficit equal to 1.8 per cent of its $1.1 billion on its annual operating revenue, trustees must seek Queen’s Park approval for the new shortfall or find ways to reduce it.
“We’re not in compliance with where we should be at,” said trustee Lori-Ann Pizzolato.
The deficit approved last spring was $6.7 million, according to a recent school board report. The increased shortfall is due largely to a spike in wages caused by the number of substitute teachers needed to replace full-time teachers on mental health or sick leave, the report states.
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The board is also facing steep Canada Pension Plan and employment insurance premium increases, the staff report notes.
“We are looking at where we can reduce,” said one superintendent, Cathy Lynd.
Since the COVID pandemic began in 2020, educator absences have become a major issue across the province including in the Thames Valley board, which employs 14,000 people.
Trustee Marianne Larsen suggested the board should do more to assist staff taking extended leaves.
“What have we done and what do we intend to do to support the wellbeing of our staff so they’re not taking days off?” she said. “So we can start to decrease the need for supply teachers over the long term?”
In January 2023, the board funded a permanent staff mental health position to help link employees to services that provide mental health supports, said education director Mark Fisher.
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“This is an issue every single school board in the province is struggling with,” he said. “We did lobby and advocate hard for changes for the amount of sick days or how sick days could be accessed and used. We wanted to put in some checks and balances.”
According to the staff report, a recent survey of school boards found that more than 70 per cent “anticipate a deficit in the 2023-24 school year.”
The Thames Valley board operates 30 high schools and 154 elementary schools with about 80,000 students across Southwestern Ontario. The next update on its financial situation is expected in May.
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