The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has approved a budget that tries to maintain as much stability as possible, while accommodating provincially-mandated changes to education and class sizes.
Trustees approved a $980-million budget for the 2019-2020 school year, Monday night.
"We have in front of us, for perhaps the very first time, a budget that I can comfortably say 'yes' to without any further changes," said Lynn Scott, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board chair.
The budget will see the full-time equivalent of 20 secondary teachers cut from the board, but enrolment growth will result in the equivalent of 29 full-time teachers hired, across all grades.
Further provincial changes to education funding are expected to result in 300 fewer teachers and the loss of about 1,800 high school classes over the next four years.
"While we know that we face challenges ahead, tonight, we propose to trustees a budget that will maintain some stability," said Camille Williams-Taylor, director of education.
The budget also contains more than $8 million for upgrades and maintenance to the school board's wi-fi network but that money will be drawn from reserve funds.
