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Catholic board cuts 15 EAs to meet budget

BY Maija Hoggett, Staff June 29, 2009 16:06

There will be fewer educational assistants in the Catholic school board next year.

Declining enrolment due to the economy and students shifting between boards are a few of the challenges Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board staff faced in balancing the $230-million budget, which is an increase of 2.56 per cent over the 2008-2009 budget.

The SMCDSB's 2009-2010 budget, passed last Wednesday night, calls for the reduction of 15 fulltime equivalent education assistant (EA) positions. This can be achieved with no layoffs of permanent EAs if positions are reallocated and current temporary positions and leaves or vacancies aren't replaced.

The cuts are a way to close the $9 million gap that exists between Ministry of Education funding for Special Education and how much the board is spending.

Director of education Michael O'Keefe said declining enrolment in the board has also meant the number of students receiving the EA services has declined. He said the board is currently in the midst of its annual process to allocate EAs for the next school year.

He said they hope to continue to serve the children already requiring an EA as well as the new students coming in.

"It will require some shifting of people," said O'Keefe.

Trustee Rick Maloney was surprised to hear through the grapevine that the budget includes modifying classrooms, specifically at a high school in Muskoka.

"I'm frustrated and concerned when I hear our smallest school is to lose the most classrooms," said Maloney.

He said the school's population is neutral.

"We're not going to grow, but we're not losing in the next year," said Maloney.

SMCDSB associate director of education (business and finance) Peter Derochie said the board has done an analysis on schools to see if there are efficiencies to be had in the system. For example, if a school has eight teachers, it isn't cost efficient for the board to have 14 classrooms open in it.

"The intent of the plan is to close classrooms that are not being used to a specific extent," said O'Keefe.

Up until this year, Derochie said decisions have been made on a growth-based mentality, but the board isn't growing.

The elementary school population peaked in 2002 and the secondary population peaked in 2007. Since then elementary schools are down 2,152 children and secondary schools have lost 300 students.

The budget includes reducing the use of 100 portables. With those out of use, it saves the board in heating, electricity and cleaning costs.

"It's nowhere near all that we think is out there, it's starting the process," said Derochie.

To save money this year, the SMCDSB is also making cuts to Courage to Serve, a professional development program. It's a faith-based retreat that has been offered to SMCDSB staff in partnership with the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the Durham Catholic District School Board. This year, the Toronto and Durham boards have made cuts to the program, which has hindered the local board's ability to provide the full service to its staff.

In this budget, Derochie has also tried to smooth out the impact that the current recession and declining enrolment will have on next year's budget.

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