Greater Essex County District School Board approves $486 million operating budget


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The Greater Essex County District School Board has approved a $486-million operating budget with a focus on mental health, special education and diversity.

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The board on Monday also approved a capital budget, which is pegged at $72,049,062. The capital expenditures, which must be approved separately from operating costs, include money for early years and full-day kindergarten programs at several schools, portable classrooms, classroom computers, school upgrades and retrofits.

The six-month budget planning process began in January and included public consultations.

The total projected operating budget for the September 2022 to August 2023 school year is $486,614,595. It includes increased investments in diversity, equity and inclusion, mental health, and well-being and special education resources.

About $1.1 million will be spent on diversity, equity and inclusion. That will include implementing the first stages of the board’s Dismantling Anti-Black Racism Strategy, hiring an LGBTQ2S+ social worker, an Indigenous graduation coach and an equity teaching consultant, among other initiatives.

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The board will also spend $4.8 million on mental health initiatives, including new behavior analysts, a social worker and a well-being teacher.

The board is spending nearly $13 million on special education — far beyond the $3.8 million in funding from the provincial government — due to “students with increasingly complex needs” and the addition of several special classrooms.

The budget includes 63 full-time equivalent special education supports for students, 16 full-time equivalent educational assistants for Indigenous students, and an additional $355,000 in supplies and equipment for students with special educational needs.

Seven new Giving Attention to Individual Needs (GAINS) classrooms for students with complex learning and physical challenges, and three new classrooms for the Skills to Enhance Personal Success (STEPS) programs, are also in the plans.

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The board has also budgeted for $1.5 million for tutoring supports to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the budget report, the board has a projected enrollment of 23,919 elementary students and 11,820 secondary students. Enrollment has dropped by 936 students compared to pre-pandemic numbers. This is the second year student numbers have declined, according to the report.

But staffing levels have increased by the equivalent of 79 full-time positions. The board has 1,454 elementary teachers and 774 secondary teachers, 338 professional and education support staff, and 141 early childhood educators.

The complete budget document is available on the Greater Essex County District School Board website.


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