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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOCDSB Submission to the 2020 Budget ConsultationOTTAWA CARLETON DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD Office of the Chair of the Board 19 February 2020 The Honourable Rod Phillips Minister of Finance c/o Budget Secretariat Frost Building North, 3rd Floor 95 Grosvenor Street Toronto, ON M7A 1Z1 Dear Mr. Phillips: Re: Submission to the 2020 Budget Consultation Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the discussion about the 2020 Ontario Budget. Please find enclosed the written submission from the Ottawa -Carleton District School Board, which we feel reflects both local and provincial priorities. This submission was generated as a result of the work of the Board's Advocacy Strategy Committee. The Board authorized this submission at its 28 January 2020 meeting. I would like to reiterate the comments I made in this submission: high -quality accessible public education is key to ensuring a good standard of living and high quality of life for all Ontarians. The upcoming provincial budget must continue to invest in public education with reasonable, predictable and sustainable funding to support multi -year planning to improve student achievement, student well-being, equity of outcomes, and fiscal accountability. Sincerely, ',-�%�i—Vic" - Lynn Sgtt Chair of the Board cc The Honourable Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education The Honourable Merrilee Fullerton, MPP, Kanata-Carleton The Honourable Lisa MacLeod, MPP, Nepean-Carleton Goldie Ghamari, MPP, Carleton Jeremy Roberts, MPP, Ottawa West-Nepean Cathy Abraham, President, OPSBA Trustees, Ottawa -Carleton District School Board Student Trustees, Ottawa -Carleton District School Board Senior Staff, Ottawa -Carleton District School Board 133 GREENBANK ROAD, OTTAWA, ONTARIO K2H 6L3 Tel: 613-721-1820 • Fax: 613-820-6968 • 24-hour Automated Information Line: 613-596-8222 • Website: www.ocdsb.ca 70. Building Brighter Futures Together at the Ottawa -Carleton District School Board s High -quality accessible public education is key to ensuring a good standard of living and high quality of life for all Ontarians. Education is the ticket out of poverty and the ticket into sustainable employment and a thriving economy where innovation and resilience keep Ontario competitive on a global scale. Ontario cannot afford to let any of its children and youth fall through the cracks. Ontario's school districts need reasonable, predictable and sustainable funding to support multi -year planning to improve student achievement, student well-being, equity of outcomes, and fiscal accountability. The Ottawa -Carleton District School Board believes the provincial budget should maintain and improve funding for public education by addressing the following elements: Operational funding • Adequately fund for teacher staffing, with flexibility to maintain a good range of 9-12 course offerings to serve the diversity of student learning needs and student interests, specifically by recognizing the need for smaller class sizes 9-12 in many specialty STEAM subjects. • Recognize the needs of inclusive classrooms JK-12, especially those with a high proportion of English Language Learners and exceptional pupils, by providing adequate funding for support staff and smaller class sizes where necessary to improve achievement in high -needs schools and for high -needs students. • Increase funding for special education and mental health supports in light of the increasing incidence of high -needs students and dysregulated behaviour, especially in elementary schools. • Fully fund the impact of inflation on operating costs for energy, building maintenance, transportation, learning resources and classroom supplies. • Maintain funding for local priorities to give school districts some degree of autonomy for addressing local needs that may be unique to the district. Capital funding • Capital funding is urgently needed to build schools and additions in high -growth areas and to replace or renovate and right -size aging facilities. • Capital grants should account for inflation over the period between the announcement of the grant and the expected start of school construction. Page 11 10 February 2020 • Capital grants should recognize significant differences in construction costs from one part of the province to another. Efficiency • Reduce the complexity of reporting requirements to keep administrative costs manageable. • Provide a new Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline to allow school districts to make more efficient use of school facilities by relocating programs, adjusting school attendance boundaries and, where necessary, closing schools. • Allow sufficient lead-time to prepare properly for implementing any significant change in the most efficient and effective way. Lynn Scott Chair, Ottawa -Carleton District School Board lynn.scott@ocdsb.ca 613-832-3813 Page 12 10 February 2020 /!-- This code was added to remove the metadata from document view in Weblink -->