WCDSB Trustees Approve $314.7 Million Balanced Budget

Waterloo Region, ON – Trustees of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board have approved the Board’s $314.7 million 2020-21 school year budget.

The budget presentation is available beginning on page 10 via this LINK.

Quick Facts

> The overall budget is as follows:

• • Total Operating: $294.3 M
  • Total Capital: $20.4 M
  • Total Operating & Capital: $314.7

> As always, budget decisions have been guided by the key priorities captured in the following plans:

• • Multi-Year Strategic Plan
  • Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement
  • Long Term Accommodation Plan
  • Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plan
  • Information Technology Strategic Plan

> Budget decisions have also been guided by new and emerging considerations related to re-opening schools within the current COVID-19 reality – chief among them, health and safety considerations.

> In the spring of this past school year, the school board was able to deploy just under 3,000 Chromebooks to the WCDSB community to facilitate learning at home. The 2020-21 budget continues to invest in learning technology that will support the school system in its goal to continue as an innovation – and learning – leader.

> Also reflected in the 2020-21 budget is the change in class size at the secondary school level, from 22:1 to 23:1. There is no change to elementary school class sizes.

> Additional key budget impacts are as follows:

• • Return of funding to support special education needs and STEM learning through the “Support for Students” fund. This has allowed the restoration of most of the positions that were impacted in last year’s budget, when the Learning Priority Fund had been suspended.
  • Continued funding for the Ministry Learning Disability pilot project, which will further support the delivery of literacy programming, allowing continued service for students with special education needs.

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board, representing more than 96,000 Catholic school supporters, operates 48 schools and five adult education facilities serving more than 40,000 elementary, secondary and continuing education students in Waterloo Region – continuing a 184-year tradition of quality, inclusive, faith-based education. Follow us on Twitter: @WCDSBNewswire – #WCDSBAwesome.