The provincial supervisor at Ottawa’s largest school board says he will introduce a “student focused resource optimization” project during the upcoming budget process.
Bob Plamondon, an auditor with experience in governance, finance, public policy and public administration, was
appointed as provincial supervisor
of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board last fall to address concerns about financial “mismanagement” and growing deficits.
In a message to parents sent Monday, Plamondon said he is working with Stacey Kay, the recently-appointed
director of education
, to advance the project in parallel with the OCDSB’s annual budget cycle.
“This initiative moves well beyond simple budget trimming with an overarching goal of ensuring that every dollar and service directly supports the classroom,” said Plamondon, who does not give media interviews.
“To build a budget that meets this goal, we are evaluating all of our resources and structures to gauge their impact on student achievement and well-being,” he said in the message to parents.
“Through this process, we will streamline board administration to remain firmly student-focused. We are not simply balancing the budget, we are building a more sustainable and unified district for our students.”
Resource optimization is often described as the process of allocating resources, such as money, workers, equipment and time in the most efficient way possible.
According to Plamondon’s website, he served as a member and lead consultant to the steering committee on resource optimization for the University of Ottawa. The multi-year initiative “delivered $33 million in annual savings while also improving the staff and student experience in a unionized environment.”
In his message to parents on Monday, Plamondon said the OCDSB has faced significant challenges, including enrolment pressures, financial deficits, declining staff morale, and other distractions.
This year’s budget process will be “unlike any the board has undertaken before,” he said.
“It is not about simply trimming expenses, but about transforming how we operate so we can better serve students.”
Stephen Skoutajan, the president of the Ottawa Carleton local of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) said Kay met with union presidents last week for about an hour. The student focused resource optimization project was main topic, but Skoutajan said he left the meeting without a clear idea of how it would work, although his understanding is that cuts would be made at the senior level.
Skoutajan said he asked at the meeting if a staff engagement survey conducted by the board would be part of the process, but he was told it would not be.
Teachers are concerned about issues such as access to classroom resources such as paper and whiteboard markers, as well as issues such as violence in classrooms, he said. According to ETFO analysis, when factors such as inflation are taken into account, $3,000 has been cut for every student since 2018.
“We asked a lot of questions,” said Skoutajan. “There was no information given on how they would get feedback from those working on the frontlines with students.”
In a Dec. 5 message to parents, Plamondon said he was undertaking a line-by-line review of current year spending and had also begun a comprehensive review of all OCDSB properties that are “not serving students.”
The overarching purpose of the financial review was to reallocate resources directly into the classroom, prioritizing investments in critical supports such as educational assistants and specialized student supports, he said.
On Monday, Plamondon said he has heard from hundreds of parents and frontline staff about a disconnect between what happens at the board office and what happens in schools.
“While everyone is dedicated and well-intentioned, too often, we are not operating as a unified team, or aligned for success,” he said.
“In some areas, spending is not sufficiently student-driven. The board office has been structured in ways that blur responsibilities and weaken accountability. Oversight of both finances and board assets has also not been as strong as it must be.”
