More than a year after the provincial government took control of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board over its finances, the board has approved a budget that still projects a $3.5-million deficit .
The 2026-27 operating budget includes funding for 21.5 new educational assistants, investments in school infrastructure and an 11 per cent reduction in board administration costs. The board says those savings helped avoid what would otherwise have been an $18.5-million deficit while directing more money toward frontline supports.
The board says declining enrolment continues to reduce provincial funding, one of the main reasons it expects to remain in deficit despite its cost-cutting measures.
The budget was approved by provincial supervisor Bob Plamondon, who replaced the board’s elected trustees in June 2025 after the province cited concerns about the OCDSB’s financial management.
The Ottawa Citizen requested an interview with Plamondon, but the board declined.
“It is not within the supervisor’s mandate to do media interviews,” an OCDSB spokesperson said in an email.
On its website, the board said the budget “puts students first” and represents “significant progress towards financial health.”
Ottawa West-Nepean MPP and Ontario NDP education critic Chandra Pasma said the budget raises questions about the province’s decision to place the board under supervision.
“It shows how ridiculous the minister’s narrative was about how we needed to have a supervisor,” Pasma said. “He made deep and painful cuts , and yet he still hasn’t balanced the budget.”
What parents and students should know
The budget includes funding for 21.5 additional educational assistants, with 13.5 positions dedicated to supporting students with increasingly complex needs and another eight supporting Indigenous students. It also includes a $6.2-million annual operating budget for Indigenous education.
Its $88.5-million capital plan includes the opening of Brian Mulroney Elementary School this fall, continued work toward a new secondary school in Barrhaven’s Half Moon Bay community and projects focused on accessibility, water quality and putting more air conditioning in schools.
The budget also includes additional spending on classroom learning resources and technology, along with continued investments in school repairs.
Elected trustee Donna Blackburn said she supports adding educational assistants, but believes the increase is far too modest given the size of the board.
“We have 150 sites, so adding 21 EAs is nowhere near enough,” she said.
Debate over the cuts
The board says it reduced administration costs by 11 per cent, including a 16 per cent reduction in spending on directors and supervisory officers, as part of an effort to improve its finances.
Pasma argued many of the reductions reach well beyond administration.
“When he’s saying he’s made administrative cuts, well, a number of the cuts that he’s made have been office staff, who are the ones that keep schools running,” she said. “He’s cut custodians and tradespeople, saying that he wanted every dollar going into classrooms. Well, ceilings and floors are also in classrooms, and bathrooms might not be, but they’re still pretty crucial to student success.”
Blackburn said she is worried about reductions to school office staff.
“When office staff call in sick, there has to be somebody in the office,” she said. “Office people are the people who keep track of who’s in the building and who’s not in the building.”
Trustees sidelined
For Blackburn , a major concern is how the budget was approved.
“It was rammed through,” she said. “There would have been several budget meetings when trustees were present.”
She said trustees would normally spend weeks reviewing the budget, hearing public delegations and debating amendments before a final vote. Instead, elected trustees had no formal role in voting on this year’s spending plan.
Pasma also criticized the consultation process, saying it failed to meaningfully engage Ottawa families.
“What Bob Plamondon did was have one meeting with hand-picked representatives from schools, and then an online survey that got a ridiculously low number of responses,” she said. “This had no meaningful public consultation. It does not reflect the priorities of Ottawa parents.”
Looking ahead
Pasma said she plans to closely watch whether the promised educational assistants are hired and whether schools feel the impact of reductions to office, custodial and maintenance staff once classes resume in September.
“The supervisor is trying to say that it won’t affect students at all,” she said. “I’m going to be asking people whether they see the impacts or not.”
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