EASTERN ONTARIO – The Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) passed their opinion on the Ministry of Education’s March 15 announcement of the Education that Works for You vision, which includes various changes to Ontario school curricula, guidelines and practices.
“The provincial government’s announcement about a new vision for education in Ontario has certainly caught our attention,” said John McAllister, Chair of the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB). “Our first impression is that there will be many changes forthcoming for our schools.”
One change that the UCDSB is looking forward to is the announcement of additional transportation funding in the face of unforeseen costs.
“The UCDSB is…very pleased to learn that there will be additional funding support for school boards to address financial pressures related to student transportation services,” read an UCDSB press release. “This funding will be available to school boards that operate efficient transportation services but run into unforeseen costs that exceed their allocated budget. “
In November 2018, the UCDSB and CDSBEO expressed concerns that both their school boards saw a deficit in 2017-2018 budgets as a result of rising rural busing costs. It was reported that the CDSBEO saw an overspending of $5.8 million, while the UCDSB saw an overspending of $9.5 million for the 2017-2018 budget year, related to unexpected transportation costs.
The UCDSB placed blame on contracts reached through binding arbitration between bus companies and Student Transportation of Eastern Ontario (STEO).
“We find this acknowledgement and commitment of additional support encouraging, given how our school board is facing unusual financial pressures related to the current cost of student transportation due to a recent arbitration decision,” said McAllister.
In an attempt to deal with rising transportation costs, STEO enacted boundary changes in September 2018, which included changes to walking distances for students in grades 7 and up who live within 2km of their school.
“We welcome further details from the Ministry of Education so we can move beyond our current challenges in providing this important service to students,” said McAllister.
“This is our plan to protect a sustainable world-class education system for the students of today and the future,” said Lisa Thompson, Minister of Education, in regards to the announcement of the Education that Works for You vision.
