HomeMy WebLinkAboutOCDSB Presentation to Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, 6 February 2023OCDSB Oral Presentation to the
Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
Pre-Budget Consultation
Good morning/afternoon. I’m Lyra Evans, Chair of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.
Following virtually with me is Randall Gerrior, our Associate Director of Business Operations. We
appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today.
Public education is the great equalizer, a well functioning public education ensures that students
who are born into poverty have a fair chance to succeed in life. Like you, we want to see a
provincial budget that meets the needs of communities and families across this province and
ensures a prosperous future for Ontarians. Research shows education funding is one of the best
investments any government can make to improve the lives of children and families; that public
education is foundational to a provincial economy that encourages businesses to grow, creates jobs,
and supports the success and well-being of individuals and families. Public education is building the
workforce of the future, for an economy that is increasingly knowledge based, and if we want to
continue to compete internationally we need to make investments accordingly.
Today, using OCDSB examples, we would like to focus on five specific areas of concern that are
seriously impacting public education in Ontario and require targeted budget investments. These are:
●Costs associated with sick leave usage
●Cyber security
●Capital funding
●Inflationary pressures
●The need to modernize the Grants for Student Needs funding formulae
Costs Associated with Sick Leave Usage
Supporting employee wellness is core to the OCDSB’s philosophy of employee well-being and
engagement, healthy staff result in better educational outcomes. To this end, the District has an
active employee wellness program and attendance management program; employees are
encouraged to utilize sick leave when they are experiencing an illness. The school district
recognizes the increased complexity and challenges experienced by school board employees and
fully supports the appropriate use of sick leave.
In the K-12 sector, when a school based employee is on sick leave, a replacement worker must be
brought in to ensure student safety and continuity of learning. A recent study of select Ontario
school districts shows that participating districts experienced an average of 15.18 sick days per
employee for the 2021-2022 school year. Prior to the pandemic, the OCDSB’s average annual sick
leave usage for all employees was 11.21 days, representing 5.35% of total payroll. In 2021-2022,
the average sick leave usage increased to 14.53 days, representing more than 6.15% of total
payroll.
In 2022-2023, the OCDSB initially targeted $20M for replacement workers related to sick leave.
Based on usage rates to date, the actual expenditure is forecasted at $33M. The current level of
provincial funding for replacement workers is $11.678M which leaves a funding gap of $28.322M.
We did receive an additional amount for COVID related expenses which allowed for the addition of
$1.4M to the budget, resulting in a funding gap of $10.278M. This is money that has to be found
through reduced spending in other areas of the budget, which will have adverse impacts on student
learning. Essentially, our students are being penalized for ensuring there is a certified educator at
the front of every classroom, a qualified EA supporting students with special education needs and a
qualified ECE in our kindergarten classrooms everyday of the school year.
We object to the underfunding of direct and necessary costs associated with sick leave usage.
It’s easy to write this off as a sectoral management issue; however, this is a structural problem
rooted in provincial legislation and underfunding.In 2012, legislation was introduced that
significantly changed the design of sick leave plans for all school board employees.
The current sick leave plan provides employees with up to 11 days of sick leave per year at 100% of
pay, as well as an additional 120 days of leave at 90% of salary. Although these 120 days are
labeled as a short term disability plan, the 120 days are accessible for incidental sick leave in the
same way as the first 11 days, and are not limited to longer term or chronic illnesses, as is often the
case with short term disability plans.
Since the new sick leave plans were introduced, there has been a significant increase in sick leave
usage. Replacement costs for employees in the OCDSB who are accessing sick leave have
climbed from $18.4 Million in 2017-2018 to over $37.5 Million in 2021-2022. Early indications show
that this will increase by an additional 9% this year over last year.
In the face of provincially established sick leave provisions and increased cost pressures which are,
for the most part, outside of boards' control, more funding is needed to cover the costs of
replacement staffing.
Cybersecurity
The rising cost of cybersecurity has been well documented in recent years. For Ontario school
districts, cyberthreats and incidents have become more prevalent and more sophisticated. The
OCDSB, like many other boards, has been forced to increase expenditures to protect against and in
response to cybersecurity threats and incidents by $547,760 for 2022-2023 alone.
The rise in cost for K-12 school districts in Ontario to maintain secure and functional technology
systems is not just limited to initial investments in security measures. School districts must also
allocate resources to address and prevent potential cyber security incidents. This can include
upgrading technology infrastructure, conducting regular security assessments to identify
vulnerabilities,recruiting and training staff to detect and prevent cyber threats, investing in incident
response plans, hiring third-party security experts to assist in investigations, and covering the cost of
any down time during the recovery process.
School boards have an obligation to take appropriate measures to protect confidential and sensitive
student and employee data and financial systems. The cost of a cyber attack can be substantial; in
addition to data loss, the costs include financial loss, as well as learning loss while systems are
down, and damage to the district's reputation and the trust of students and their families. Recently,
one Ontario school district had to shut down all learning management systems and all operating
systems for a two day period in response to a cyberthreat. As such, school boards must
continuously allocate resources towards cyber security to stay ahead of evolving threats. Moreover,
with the increase in the number of cyber-security related attacks across the sector, insurance
policies are becoming more expensive.
It is essential that the provincial budget recognize the importance of proper funding of school
districts and other public sector organizations to protect against cyber attacks.
Capital Funding
The current process for allocating capital funding for school boards is in need of review. We are
aware of and welcome, the work underway by the Ministry of Education and provincial partners to
bring much needed efficiency to the provincial and municipal planning and construction approval
processes.
The OCDSB, like other boards, continues to need to build new schools in growth areas, and to
undertake major renovations to schools in established communities. School boards are required to
submit annual priority lists and funding for projects is allocated on a business case basis for new
schools, retrofits, and additions. In 2022, school boards were asked to identify their five most urgent
capital priorities, including priorities for schools and for child care spaces for completion by the
2026-27 school year.
There is a significant lag time between the creation of the business case, the announcement of
funding, and the build time, which can lead to significantly changed circumstances when it comes to
costs. There is a need to address funding benchmarks, the rise in construction costs and the impact
of supply chain on costs and build-time, and inflation that may occur between the awarding of the
capital funding and the timing of construction. Otherwise, school boards and the communities they
serve find themselves unable to proceed with approved projects because the funding is no longer
feasible or adequate based on changed conditions. The OCDSB is currently facing a capital
shortfall for two currently approved projects of $24.6M (18.3M for Riverside South and $6.3M for
Findlay Creek).
Inflationary Costs
The District continues to experience significant inflationary pressures in a number of operating
areas, including energy, building maintenance, transportation, learning resources and classroom
supplies. Without additional funding, their impact on the board’s budget will be a significant concern.
For 2022, the rate of inflation in Canada is approximately 6.8% which creates an inflationary
pressure of approximately $10.1M on our normal operating costs. Some provision to cover the
increased costs of supplies, services, and utilities must be a consideration in next year’s funding.
School districts understand that prudent management of financial resources is necessary to help
maintain a healthy learning environment with appropriate supports for students and student
programs. This also requires reasonable adjustments in funding to reflect the reality of inflationary
pressures that are outside the Board’s control.
GSN Rebalancing
Finally, the Grants for Student Needs funding formulae needs to be retailored to meet the modern
needs of schools in Ontario. The OCDSB supports the recommendations made by the Ontario
Public School Board Association (OPSBA) on the Education Funding and Grants for Student Needs
through the Ministry Consultation Guide.
Summary
In closing, any time a significant cost pressure exists, it pulls funding away from education. When a
school board has to spend millions on unfunded requirements, that is money taken away from the
education of students. We reiterate the need for strong, predictable, and equitable education funding
for school boards in Ontario. We can all agree our first responsibility is to the children, and to the
future, and to that end it is our responsibility to support and improve student achievement and
well-being. Thank you. We’d be pleased to respond to questions.
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