York Region school board needs to transfer $33.6M from its reserves to balance budget

YRDSB needs an additional $6.6M from the two per cent approved cap the ministry has allowed

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 22, 2020
Dina Al-Shibeeb

The York Region District School Board needs to transfer about $33.6 million from its accumulated surplus to keep its budget balanced for next year, says a report shared by its finance managers during a Dec. 15 meeting.

While the Ministry of Education has previously allowed Ontario school boards to tap into two per cent of their reserves, this translates into $27 million for the YRDSB, leaving out the additional $6.6 million required to keep its budget balanced.

This is due to the YRDSB incurring double in expenses -- about $67.1 million -- in comparison to $33.5 million in revenue, “resulting in an estimated deficit of $33.6 million,” the report said.

“It’s also important to note the context of the board’s overall annual budget, which this year is approximately $1.57 billion,” YRDSB’s spokesperson Licinio Miguelo further highlighted.

The revised estimate report of YRDSB’s 2020-2021 budget, which was prepared by its chief financial officer Vidyia Maharaj and senior manager of finance services Kim Brady, had a Dec. 15 deadline to be submitted to the Ministry of Education via the Education Finance Information System (EFIS).

“When the boards’ revised estimates are submitted to the ministry, the additional amount requiring approval will be noted for the ministry to grant approval for the additional transfer required to balance the budget,” the report said.

The report also shows how COVID-19 has impacted students’ enrolment in the YRDSB, which has long been considered a “growth” board.

The decline in student enrolment due to “lack of new immigration,” as well as more parents opting to keep their kindergarten-aged children either at home or in child care, has resulted in a decrease in operating grant funding of almost $47 million.

There is also a significantly reduced projection for international students due to the “unknown impact of COVID-19.”

It added, “The actual reduction was not as severe and the revised projections now include an increase in related revenues versus the budget.”

ON PPE AND CHROMEBOOKS

The report also included total forecast expenses for PPE and Chromebooks.

When the YRDSB was asked about how many additional Chromebooks it requires, Miguelo said, “At this time, we believe there are sufficient devices for January; however, we encourage families to reach out to their schools if they need support.”

“We've also shared with families information about the province's initiative to provide direct funding to families to purchase technology for learning,” he added.

Other expenses include support for special education (EA), mental health support, custodians, enhanced cleaning and some air quality and ventilation funding.

On Nov. 13, the YRDSB told Yorkregion.com that “We continue to hire caretakers to fill the need in our schools. Once the hiring concludes and we are at full complement, we will have 46 additional caretakers in the system to support COVID-related activities.”

From the $10 million the Ontario government dedicated to additional mental health supports in schools, the board hired five one-year-term social workers as well as additional EAs “to support students with special education needs during transitions.”