Board to decide on deficit plan

At a special meeting last week, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board reduced its deficit to $2.5 million and will vote Thursday on a specific plan that reduces future debt reduction.

Trustees received a deficit management plan and the two-year plan offers various strategies to tackle the deficit. Trustees will vote on their direction Sept. 14.

After a finalization of the plan, the budget and deficit plan will be filed by Sept. 22 with the Ministry of Education.

In attempts to minimize the 2005/06 deficit of $15.1 million, cost savings strategies and additional revenues totalling $12.6 million are expected to be realized. These measures reduced the deficit for 2005/06 down to an estimated $2.5 million. But, for fiscal 2006/07, the projected deficit is still roughly $16.6 million.

In addition to the cost savings strategies, staff has also identified cost avoidance initiatives that will help to reduce the impact of future cost pressures.

"In achieving a balanced financial position by 2007/08, there is, no doubt, that impact will be felt throughout the system, at all levels," according to Michael Bator, director of education. "The plan recognizes that by exercising discipline today, the board achieves flexibility in the future in order to ensure that it is able to deliver quality programs and services.

"When a school board reduces spending in an area to live within its means, that will have an impact, directly or indirectly, on the classroom. Budgeting is difficult because cuts in spending will, directly or indirectly, have an impact on the classroom. Very little can be cut that does not have a ripple effect.

"School boards spend most of their money on people, so reducing spending in that area usually affects employees, as regrettable as that is. No one can give a guarantee that jobs won't be affected, but every effort should be made to let attrition work, with layoffs only as a last resort."

Bator said the deficit management plan reflects their principles of aligning expenditures more closely to allocations.