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The public school board might be able to add back a few ESL teachers and educational assistants that were on the chopping block as trustees struggled to balance the budget.
Trustees at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board are close to approving a budget for the next school year, a process that has been difficult because they faced a significant shortfall.
The plan was to eliminate four ESL teachers and 10 educational assistants, who help special-ed students.
But at the suggestion of trustee Shawn Menard, staff was asked to find $400,000 in cuts that won’t affect programs or staff. In a report to be debated Monday night, staff said they recalculated how many early childhood educators would be required in kindergarten classes next year, saving $250,000. They also suggested chopping $100,000 from the budget for operating buildings, and $50,000 from legal services.
That should allow the board to add back some of the classroom staff that was to be cut, said board chair Shirley Seward.
Several trustees have said they are concerned about how the board will be able to provide services for an influx of 500 Syrian refugee children who don’t speak English. Some of the children are behind in school after several years as refugees; others are traumatized or have medical and mental health challenges.
The board has been making changes all year to whittle down a budget shortfall of $14.4 million that arose after several years of using an accumulated surplus to fund programs and staff not covered by provincial grants. The surplus was used, for example, to pour more money into special education and to hire extra educational assistants and school office staff. That surplus is now gone.
The board was also to debate a proposal from trustee Mark Fisher to study why teachers, educational assistants and early childhood educators are booking off sick more often. Sick-leave rates for those employees have been rising for several years, as is the budget for substitutes to replace them.
Trustees also recommended eliminating an after-school program that offered piano and other arts lessons to students, saving $48,000.
General-interest course for adults, which lose money, will also be eliminated to save $267,000 a year. The board now offers dozens of classes in everything from piano and guitar to Japanese flower arranging, scrapbooking and financial planning.
The board has to focus on its core mission of serving students from kindergarten to Grade 12, during school hours, said director of education Jennifer Adams at an earlier budget meeting.
Some of the major budget changes made or recommended to make up the $14.4-million shortfall:
$2.7 million: Extra annual funding from the province when the board makes kindergartens bilingual beginning in September
$565,000: Savings from reduced staff due to the introduction of bilingual kindergartens and the reduction of the amount of English taught in early French immersion classes
$550,000: Savings from reducing segregated classes for children with learning disabilities from a full day to half a day
$1.3 million: Revenue gained by increasing fees for before- and after-school programs
$403,200: Annual savings by cutting four learning resource teachers
$391,600: Annual savings by cutting four ESL teachers
$493,350: Annual savings by cutting 11.25 office assistants in schools (not approved yet)
$471,000: Annual savings by cutting 10 education assistants (not approved yet)
$267,000: Annual savings by eliminating general-interest courses for adults (not approved yet)
$48,000: Annual savings by eliminating the extracurricular creative arts program of piano and other lessons for children after school
查看原文...
Trustees at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board are close to approving a budget for the next school year, a process that has been difficult because they faced a significant shortfall.
The plan was to eliminate four ESL teachers and 10 educational assistants, who help special-ed students.
But at the suggestion of trustee Shawn Menard, staff was asked to find $400,000 in cuts that won’t affect programs or staff. In a report to be debated Monday night, staff said they recalculated how many early childhood educators would be required in kindergarten classes next year, saving $250,000. They also suggested chopping $100,000 from the budget for operating buildings, and $50,000 from legal services.
That should allow the board to add back some of the classroom staff that was to be cut, said board chair Shirley Seward.
Several trustees have said they are concerned about how the board will be able to provide services for an influx of 500 Syrian refugee children who don’t speak English. Some of the children are behind in school after several years as refugees; others are traumatized or have medical and mental health challenges.
The board has been making changes all year to whittle down a budget shortfall of $14.4 million that arose after several years of using an accumulated surplus to fund programs and staff not covered by provincial grants. The surplus was used, for example, to pour more money into special education and to hire extra educational assistants and school office staff. That surplus is now gone.
The board was also to debate a proposal from trustee Mark Fisher to study why teachers, educational assistants and early childhood educators are booking off sick more often. Sick-leave rates for those employees have been rising for several years, as is the budget for substitutes to replace them.
Trustees also recommended eliminating an after-school program that offered piano and other arts lessons to students, saving $48,000.
General-interest course for adults, which lose money, will also be eliminated to save $267,000 a year. The board now offers dozens of classes in everything from piano and guitar to Japanese flower arranging, scrapbooking and financial planning.
The board has to focus on its core mission of serving students from kindergarten to Grade 12, during school hours, said director of education Jennifer Adams at an earlier budget meeting.
Some of the major budget changes made or recommended to make up the $14.4-million shortfall:
$2.7 million: Extra annual funding from the province when the board makes kindergartens bilingual beginning in September
$565,000: Savings from reduced staff due to the introduction of bilingual kindergartens and the reduction of the amount of English taught in early French immersion classes
$550,000: Savings from reducing segregated classes for children with learning disabilities from a full day to half a day
$1.3 million: Revenue gained by increasing fees for before- and after-school programs
$403,200: Annual savings by cutting four learning resource teachers
$391,600: Annual savings by cutting four ESL teachers
$493,350: Annual savings by cutting 11.25 office assistants in schools (not approved yet)
$471,000: Annual savings by cutting 10 education assistants (not approved yet)
$267,000: Annual savings by eliminating general-interest courses for adults (not approved yet)
$48,000: Annual savings by eliminating the extracurricular creative arts program of piano and other lessons for children after school
查看原文...
