The Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) board of trustees have approved the 2024-25 budget with a projected deficit of $6,379,834.
The operating budget for the next school year is set at $532-million.
Trustees voted Jun. 12 to save jobs instead of shrinking next year’s deficit. Administration recommended firing 20 fulltime employees, mostly in-school support workers, to shrink that deficit to roughly $4.5 million -- but trustees opted not to make those cuts.
During Tuesday's budget meeting, the trustees voted to pass an amnedment to remove trustee professional development expenses at a savings of $40,000.
Shelley Armstrong, superintendent of business and treasurer says the budget and in-year deficit elimination plan must be sent to the Ministry of Education for approval no later than Jun. 28.
"It does not guarantee that we will be able to carry a 2024/25 deficit in excess of one per cent. That will be up to the Ministry of Education and the minister himself, on whether he approves that based what is submitted on the plan."
During deliberations for the submission of the in-year deficit elimination plan, the trustees agreed to carry forward last year's recommendations on how they would eliminate the deficit in future budgets.
Those include review program and delivery and boundaries of french immersion, review transportation operator agreements, review in detail all non-salary budgeted expenses, conduct school boundary reviews, and implement climate action efficiencies to reduce expenses such as utilities.
Board chair and trustee Gale Hatfield brought forward a motion to include a review of all unfunded expenses of the board.
"I think we have targeted almost everything we can in our budget through these deficit elimination plans, so in my head I'm trying to say ' okay what's left?' So what's left are the unfunded expenses."
Trustee Sarah Cipkar supported the motion, which passed.
"I think that this item is subtly or maybe directly highlighting the fact that we've cut everywhere else that we can and that it highlights the fact that those unfunded expenses have to do with do with, I think, staff positions."
Cipkar says in going down this path, the board will be faced with the same situation next year unless there's a 'significant change at the provincial level'.
Hatfield says in keeping with tradition of sending a letter of protest alongside the budget, it's time for the public to do the same.
"I think our community, our school communities, our parents need to rise up, say 'we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore' when it comes to under funding public education."
The projected enrolment for students for the 2024/25 school year is 24,052 elementary students, 11,520 secondary and 112 international students.