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Receipt of Committee of the Whole, Budget Report, 23 May 2023 1 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE, BUDGET REPORT Tuesday, May 23, 2023 7:00 pm Board Room Administration Building 133 Greenbank Road Ottawa, Ontario Trustees Present: Alysha Aziz (electronic communication), Justine Bell (electronic communication), Donna Dickson, Donna Blackburn, Lyra Evans, Jennifer Jennekens, Nili Kaplan-Myrth, Cathryne Milburn, Suzanne Nash, Amanda Presley, Lynn Scott, Antong Hou (Student Trustee) Staff Present: Michele Giroux (Director of Education and Secretary of the Board), Brett Reynolds (Associate Director), Randy Gerrior (Associate Director, Business Operations, Treasurer), Janice McCoy (Executive Officer of Corporate Services), James Proulx (Executive Officer, Information Technology and Digital Transformation), Mary Jane Farrish (Superintendent of Instruction), Reg Lavergne (Superintendent of Instruction), Peter Symmonds (Superintendent of Learning Support Services), Teri Adamthwaite (General Manager, Financial Services), Stacey Kay (General Manager, Learning Support Services), Pamela LeMaistre (General Manager, People, Culture and Leadership), Sandy Owens (General Manager, Business & Learning Technologies), Nicole Guthrie (General Manager, Board Services), Michael Guilbault (Content Creator, Digital Multimedia Technician, Communications and Information Services), Mellissa Applewaithe Non-Voting Representatives Present: Tracey Shapiro (OCSSAN), Jennifer Capitani (OCEOC), (Philip Battison (OSSTF-PSSU), Susan Gardner (OCETF), Stephanie Kirkey (OSSTF-TBU), Natasha Baines (OSSTF-SSP), Corrine Lassaline (OSTF-PECCS), Nina Stanton (IEC) 1. Call to Order - Chair of Committee of the Whole, Budget Chair Blackburn called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. 2. Acknowledgement of Territorial Lands 2 Chair Blackburn acknowledged that the meeting is taking place on unceded Algonquin Homelands and thanked the Algonquin Nations for hosting the meeting on their land. 3. Approval of Agenda Moved by Trustee Nash, THAT the agenda be approved. Carried 4. Declarations of Interest No declarations of interest were filed. 5. Discussion Items 5.1 Report 23-044, Budget Development Update (GSN) (R. Gerrior) Your Committee had before it, Report 23-044, to provide a summary of the projected budget requirements for the 2023-2024 school year. During the discussion and in response to queries, the following information was provided:  The budget deficit proposed by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) at the Committee of the Whole (COW) Budget meeting of 1 February 2023 was in the range of $9 million to $39 million;  The OCDSB has now received information on the 2023 -2024 Grants for Student Needs (GSN) allocations from the Ministry of Education (MOE), and the budget deficit is now approximately $19.8 million;  Priorities and Partnership Funding (PPFs) provide education funding, supplemental to the GSN targeted funding;  There is a new funding formula for student transportation that will be phased out over the next four years which has resulted in a funding realignment of approximately $13.8 million;  The OCDSB is working with the Ontario Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) and the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) to challenge the decrease in transportation funding. At this stage, it appears that the proposed changes affect small or partially filled buses;  It was requested that the formula used by the MOE to determine changes to transportation funding be forwarded to trustees upon receipt; 3  The OCDSB funding for virtual schools exceeds the MOE funding by approximately $400,000;  It was suggested that the OCDSB could combine leadership for elementary and secondary virtual schools as a cost-saving measure. Director Giroux noted that enrolment projections and associated issues would need to be reviewed and that she would provide an update at the next Committee of the Whole (COW) Budget meeting;  It was requested that a cost Per Pupil Amount (PPA ) for virtual school be provided;  Director Giroux noted that the available average enrolment figures and associated analysis for virtual schools could be provided at the 31 May 2023 Committee of the Whole Budget meeting;  Associate Director Gerrior noted that continued funding would be discussed further in the staff-recommended budget regarding the budget provision for air quality in classrooms;  In response to a request for clarification on the Restraint Savings Allocation listed in Appendix A to Report 23-044, General Manager Adamthwaite noted that she would provide more detail at a future date;  The majority of MOE funding for mental health is assigned to School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO) and is not allocated directly to the District;  The OCDSB collaborates with SMHO regularly and attends monthly meetings which provides opportunities to advocate for evolving requirements within the District;  It was noted that the MOE has removed $4 million in COVID-19 related funding for the tutoring program but that the program exists as a post-COVID-19 program;  Associate Director Gerrior noted that funding for the Autism Spectrum Disorder Additional Qualification (ASD AQ) had decreased from $77,958 to $26,000, as the figure of $77,958 represented funding committed over a three-year period and that Finance would correct the presentation of the figures;  Associate Gerrior noted that the MOE has yet to define priorities for spending in the grant allocation funding for Indigenous Education. At a meeting with the MOE, the OCDSB was provided with suggestions for community priorities. The OCDSB will discuss 4 these suggestions with the Indigenous community and the Board, and provide feedback to the MOE;  Residual Indigenous funding is carried forward to the following year;  The OCDSB will continue to offer Grade 11 Indigenous focused English programming, and the MOE will offer a PPA for any student enrolled in an Indigenous studies course;  The MOE is undertaking a review of the Special Incidents portion of Special Education Grants, but the allocation has not yet been clarified;  Director Giroux noted that the MOE is discontinuing targeted funding for anti-sex trafficking, and the OCDSB now has to review the situation to determine if there are any options to continue a funding stream;  The MOE is providing an increase in targeted math funding, but specific directions to support the funding are yet to be received;  In response to a request for clarity regarding the loss of tutoring supports in contrast to the additional funding for math and literacy, Director Giroux noted that a component of new MOE requirements is the regular screening of Kindergarten and Grade 1 students, but detail for screening support is not yet available; and  The OCDSB is determining how to reduce the cost of replacement educators. 5.2 Report 23-034, 2022-2023 Updated Financial Forecast (R. Gerrior) Your Committee had before it, Report 23-034, to explain changes reflected in the District’s 2022-2023 Updated Financial Forecast as compared to the District’s 2022-2023 Budget. Assistant Director Gerrior reported that the projected deficit after the revised estimate is $9.1 million which does not represent a change; however, the OCDSB has increased the implementation of cost-saving measures and reviewed the use of staff leave and staff replacement costs. Assistant Director Gerrior noted that it is unlikely that these strategies would alter OCDSB's financial position significantly; however, the outcome for the District should be slightly better than the original forecast due to the current cost-saving measures. 6. New Business - Information and Inquiries 5 There was no new business. 7. Upcoming Meeting Dates The upcoming meeting dates were provided for information. 8. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m. _________________________ Donna Blackburn, Chair