non-teaching positions cut at ottawa-carleton district school board
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dozens of non-teaching positions at the ocdsb were being cut tuesday as the board faces budget pressures and declining enrolment.
errol mcgihon
/
postmedia
non-teaching positions are being cut at the ottawa-carleton district school board as the district grapples with a budget deficit and declining enrolment numbers next year.
as of 11 a.m. tuesday, unions confirmed that at least 97 positions have been cut.
because of a number of vacancies, 69 unionized employees will be laid off as of aug. 31.
melodie gondek, the president of the office, clerical and technician employees unit, confirmed that an number of central positions had been declared surplus or redundant, resulting in a net loss of 48 jobs. the unit is represented by district 25 of the ontario second school teachers’ federation.
“while a small number of new roles are proposed, they largely consolidate existing work,” said gondek. “the overall impact is significant downsizing driven by chronic government underfunding of staff and services required to keep the ocdsb functioning.”
the cuts build on last year’s attrition program to balance the budget and reflect ongoing underfunding since 2018, said gondek.
“beyond service reductions, we are losing critical institutional knowledge and professional expertise.”
another 49 plant support positions are being cut, said philip battison, president of the bargaining plant support unit.
plant support positions include custodial, skilled trades and cafeteria jobs. battison said he is expecting letters to go out to workers tuesday and wednesday, and can’t be more specific until his members have more information. however, about 15 of the positions are currently vacant and the cuts will come into effect in september.
battison said he has been in talks with bob plamondon, the supervisor appointed by the province, since last july. in the past two weeks, he said he has proposed many cost-saving ideas.
the cuts present about five per cent of the plant support unit’s 730 members, said battison.
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“there is nowhere left to cut. i hear from workers every day that they’re exhausted. there are injuries every day because of the physical nature of the job,” he said.
chris walsh, the president of the bargaining unit that represents education assistants and early childhood educators said official numbers for the unit have not yet been officially provided.
“i do expect a reduction to our early childhood educator complement as the numbers are tied directly to enrolment,” said walsh. “my understanding that kindergarten enrolment is down, which will result in a loss of classes across the district. at this point, i do not anticipate any cuts to our (approximately) 853 educational assistants.”
corinne lassaline, president of the professional student service personnel bargaining unit, which represents paraprofessionals such as social workers, speech and language pathologists and occupational therapists, said there will be no job cuts in the unit this time. but there are two more months to go before the end of the school year, she said.
every job lost in education affects students, whether they’re in the classroom or not, said battison.
“our members keep schools safe, hazard-free, welcoming and comfortable,” he said. “the added workload will affect our schools in a negative way.”
the roles can’t be dismissed just member the workers are not in front of a classroom, gondek.
“when you cut the workers who support the system, the system weakens. these reductions come alongside annual school-site enrolment reviews, and with more families choosing the ottawa catholic school board, further surplus declarations are likely by the end of the spring,” she said.
“fewer resources mean less capacity, and less capacity means reduced service across the entire ocdsb community. this is erosion, not efficiency.”
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last week, a report released to the ocdsb’s audit committee said enrolment is expected to decrease about more than 1,100 students. elementary is projected to drop by 766 students, while secondary enrolment for schools is expected to dip by 338 students. at the same time, the ottawa catholic school board is projecting 577 more secondary students enrolled in its schools as well as 856 more elementary students.
as a result, teaching positions have been cut by just over 83 full-time equivalents, and principal and vice-principal allocations by dropped by 1.83 full-time positions.
the number of classroom teaching positions required each year by the ocdsb is tied directly to student enrolment, according to a report to the audit committee on april 28.
the district develops a teacher staffing plan every year based on preliminary enrolment projections. classroom positions are subject to change as enrolment figures are adjusted. projections are monitored and updated throughout the early spring and actual enrolments are confirmed in september.
teacher position fall into two groups. mandated positions are required due to provincial regulations — such as class size rules — collective agreements, and funding agreements. the second group is “needs-based teaching staff” who complement the work of mandated positions. this includes positions such as special education teachers, english-as-second-language teachers, instructional coaches and consultants and principal and vice-principals.
the ocdsb did not respond to a request for comment on tuesday.
speaking to the audit committee on april 28, plamondon questioned whether there was an “optimism bias” in enrolment projections in recent years.
“you rightfully point out that we have overestimated the number of students,” replied director of education stacey kay.
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there are consequences to that, she told the audit committee.
“it is more difficult to sustain the financial stability of the board when we’re trying to make a mid-year correction … we really thought that given the overall financial landscape, that the most responsible approach at this time was to take a very conservative approach to our enrolment.”
if enrolment is higher than expected this fall, staffing levels can be adjusted, said kay.
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