OttawaThe Ottawa-Carleton District School Board posted another deficit last year. Ottawa’s largest school board been under provincial supervision since June over accusations by Ontario’s education minister of financial mismanagement..Province says it put board under supervision because of financial mismanagementCBC News · Posted: Nov 25, 2025 1:03 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB)’s head office earlier this year. The board, which is under provincial supervision, ran a $5.4 million deficit last school year. (Gabrielle Huston/CBC)The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) has posted another deficit.Ottawa’s largest school board has been under provincial supervision since June over accusations by Ontario’s education minister of financial mismanagement.On Monday, the board’s chief financial officer told its audit committee that it had run a deficit of $5.4 million for the last school year, which ended in August. The budget for the year totalled about $1.23 billion.Among the contributing factors:Occasional teachers and educational assistants cost $12 million more than budgeted.Utilities and maintenance cost $7 million more than budgeted.Enrolment dropped to about 75,800, more than 700 students fewer than expected. The board saved about $13 million on supplies such as textbooks by cutting spending mid-year, and found another $3 million through other efficiencies and by tightening eligibility for school transportation.Legal fees and investigations related to staff and trustee conduct cost about $3 million more than expected, while the suspended trustees’ expenses totalled about $130,000 less than budgeted.Reserves drainedIn recent years, the board has routinely posted deficits and drained its reserves. According to Monday’s report, the OCDSB’s reserve fund is $12.1 million in the hole, when it should have about $30 million set aside.Critics say the province doesn’t fund schools properly, and blame the government for saddling school boards with deficits. Dozens of boards Ontario’s 72 school boards are battling deficits, but the five currently under supervision are among those with the largest shortfalls.”We are not funded enough, particularly when it comes to special education. This is not unique to [this board],” said longtime OCDSB trustee Donna Blackburn on Monday.Under supervision, elected trustees have no access to their email or cell phones. Education Minister Paul Calandra has said he might eliminate the role of trustees altogether.The Ford government passed a law last week giving the minister new powers to take control of school boards.With files from Nathan Fung and Andrew Foote
OCDSB ran $5.4M deficit last school year
