EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been modified to correct the total amount spent on staff salaries and expenses.
While the province has revised how it’s presenting funding to school boards across Ontario this year, the amount spent by the public board in Simcoe County is ticking up alongside enrolment.
The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) approved its $691-million budget for the 2024-25 school year during their board meeting on May 22, with money earmarked for new staff, transportation and special education.
The board is expected to see their enrolment rise by 1,158 students.
"The SCDSB has consistently focused on fiscal responsibility and accountability, and in doing so, operated with a balanced budget," Corry Van Nispen, the board’s superintendent of business and facility services, said in a news release.
"Developing and managing a budget of this size and scope is a collaborative effort between the board of trustees, the director of education, senior administrative team and financial reporting team," Van Nispen added.
The projected operating budget for the 2024-25 school year is $691 million, an increase of about $4 million over 2023-24 budget numbers.
The majority of the funding for school boards is provided through the provincial government through grants for student needs (where school boards are given a certain amount of funding per student), and that funding model has not changed for many years.
However, this year the province changed their presentation of the funding aiming to make it easier for school board budgets to be understood by the general public.
This year’s grants for student needs funding accounts for $673 million of the board’s spending. Other revenue sources for the board include tuition fees, grants and continuing education fees. The board is given specific instructions from the province on how each dollar must be spent.
This year for the SCDSB, as enrolment is planned to increase by approximately 1,158 students, the board has been given approval to hire 72 more staff to accommodate those new students. Overall, $596 million of next year’s budget goes toward staff salaries and expenses.
The province gives school boards a flat rate for transportation costs regardless of enrolment, and next year the province boosted the board’s funding for school buses and transportation by about $2 million, to nearly $27 million.
However, it still might not be enough.
“The ministry is providing additional transportation funding for the use of vans and smaller vehicles,” wrote Van Nispen in the release. “The SCDSB continues to experience financial pressures in the areas of special education, transportation, student accommodation, and sick leave.”
To read through the board's full 2024-25 budget, click here.
