Catholic school board loses budget control
By Lavinia Kerr Orangeville Citizen

Parents of students attending Catholic schools in Dufferin need to brace for cuts.

The provincial government is taking over supervision of the school board through the appointment of a "comanagement team" headed by Norbert Hartmann that will make cuts required to balance the board's budget, as outlined in a deficit management plan.

The announcement was made Oct. 10 by Minister of Education, Kathleen Wynne,

after the board voted 7-2 against any further cuts last week, defying a direct order from the minister.

Remaining steadfast in their conviction to stand up to the government, the board rejected, for a second time, the two options presented to manage the deficit, one of which had been recommended by staff.

"It was a very difficult decision to make," said chair board Peter Ferriera. "But we have worked with budget made cuts in good faith to show the government we will work with them but we won't hurt our kids anymore."

Wynne sent a letter to the board, Sep 29, with the direction to implement one of the options, known as "plan B" of the deficit management plan. The board staff and a minister appointed special advisor worked on two options, over the summer, to create a plan that would balance the budget.

Two plans were devised to reduce the $16 million deficit that the board ran last school year. The first option, plan A, was considered too aggressive by the trustees and included school closures. Plan B was only slightly more palatable. The deficit management plan is expected to produce a balanced budget within two years and trustees sent a clear message of rejection for both options to the province Sept. 14. The minister, having been sworn into office Sept. 18, made a personal appearance to the board on Sept. 27 and followed up with a letter directing the board to act or face the consequences.

As head of the comanagement team, Hartmann, a former assistant deputy education minister, will assume control of the budget and make the cuts. He previously worked with the Toronto School Board comanagement team under the direction of former education minister Gerrard Kennedy.

According to a ministry news release, two trustees from the board will act as advisors to Hartmann.

The proposed cuts in plan B are intended to eliminate the $16 million deficit and balance the budget within two years and include job freezes, a reduction in custodial, secretaries and other staff positions, removal of early release days, a reduced reading recovery program, reduced vice-principal appointments and a freeze on computer leasing.

No schools are targeted for closure and a full list of all cuts can be found on the school board's Web site www.dpcdsb.org.