Declining enrolment and higher wages pre-empt paring down of teachers
Feb 27, 2008 - 02:54 PM
By Josie Newman
DURHAM -- Despite reduced expenditures in a myriad of areas this year, the Durham Catholic District School Board plans to begin cutting some jobs in the 2008/2009 school year in order to balance its budget.
At least 36 teachers will not have their contracts renewed due to declining enrolment while others may need to be cut in an attempt to balance a predicted shortfall of $6.3 million, business superintendent Ryan Putnam said in an interview following a public consultation meeting Tuesday.
The meeting, which only drew about 10 members of the public, marked the first time the DCDSB opened its budget process so early to the public for comment.
On April 14, Mr. Putnam will give another presentation to the DCDSB's board meeting to give an overview of the Ministry of Education grants expected for the 08/09 school year. By June 9, the first draft of next year's budget should be presented at a board meeting and by June 23 the finalized version should be ready, said Mr. Putnam.
During the current school year, the DCDSB has reduced regular teaching staff by 28, special education teachers by 12 and special education assistants by 10, custodial staff by 11, and laid off the equivalent of two-and-a-half elementary vice-principals and a half-time secretary. The board also didn't renew the contracts of six literacy coaches.
"We're a board in decline but that's not unique in the province. A declining birth rate, emigration to Alberta from Ontario, plus the fact that only 20 per cent of immigrants to Ontario are Catholic now whereas before they comprised 40 per cent are all contributing factors to that. Plus we give more per pupil funding than many other school boards." said Mr. Putnam.
He said another reason the board has to reduce the number of teachers it employs is because of the fairly recent increase in Catholic teachers' salaries in order to comply with Ministry of Education guidelines for teacher pay.
He said the three major areas the Catholic school board is targeting to try and balance its books are reductions in teachers, special education costs, and in the number of Catholic schools in Durham Region. Mr. Putnam said recent cuts have eliminated $1.5 million of the board's $3-million goal for special education reductions.
"We're 10 schools too heavy. Oshawa is only the start of that process -- we still have problems in other pockets of the region," he said.
The board saved $400,000 through energy conservation and purchasing hydro in volume in conjunction with 40 other school boards, he said.
Funding for computers and other technological equipment needs to be increased in order to replace equipment that wears out. Currently, the budget only allows for payment of day-to-day costs, like internet service providers, said Mr. Putnam.
"We need to rebuild, to look at priorities and dig deep, rather than look at how and where we cut," Paul Pulla, the board's director of education, said during a question-and-answer session following the meeting. "We need to look at what's working in the classroom and what's not."
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