DDSB dips into reserve funds for students, staff

By Courtney Bachar/The Oshawa Express/LJI Reporter

The public school board is one step closer to approving the full back to school plan for September.

In a recent special board meeting, trustees approved the use of up to one per cent of reserve funds of the board’s 2020 budget to adopt safety measures to keep students and staff as safe as possible.

The funding approval equates to about $8.13 million of the board’s reserve fund.

The motion also requests staff develop a plan for utilizing the reserve funds.

While the motion passed, many trustees expressed disappointment in the provincial government for not providing more funding to help offset the additional costs from COVID-19.

“We are letting the government off the hook,” says Oshawa Trustee Michael Barrett, adding “it’s shameful” of the government to be forcing the responsibility onto the school boards.

Whitby Trustee Niki Lundquist, who brought the original motion forward, echoes Barrett’s remarks.

“[The government has] handed us an unworkable plan that doesn’t protect safety,” she says, noting she is “deeply disturbed” at how little regard has been paid to the safety of the students and the families in this back-to-school plan.

“I recognize it is the government’s responsibility to provide the funding for a safe return to school and so this motion really is about stepping in where they have failed and doing what I think are things we can reasonably and practically do to try to address some of the greatest concerns we have,” says Lundquist.

Oshawa Trustee Ashley Noble says using the reserve funds will help better serve the safety practices for staff and students.

“I do believe as trustees, since we are elected by the public, we should be listening to what the public has to say and it is very clear they are advocating for smaller class sizes,” says Noble. “It is in the best interest to ensure the safety of our students and staff, families and communities by using the reserve funds, while simultaneously asking for more money from the government.”

As part of the motion, trustees also agreed to send a “strongly worded letter” to the Ministry of Education expressing its “grave concern about the failure to use small class sizes as a priority safety strategy and urging the government to immediately provide all funding necessary to all school boards to ensure the full hierarchy of safety controls be put in place as schools reopen.”

“Funding is needed to provide more staff to create smaller class sizes in elementary schools that ensures physical distancing, to address safety concerns on school buses, along with the necessary capital upgrades and make further improvements to ventilation systems in DDSB schools,” reads the letter.

Further to the motion, trustees voted in favour of creating a program that encourages the use of masks for all students. The province stipulates that masks must be worn by all students in Grade 4 and above.

Noble says the school board should be doing its best to ensure all students, including those from kindergarten to Grade 3, wear masks, noting she has received countless letters from concerned teachers and parents regarding the safety of students and staff.

“We know there is no room for trial and error and we have to support our students and staff, which means making sure safety and wellbeing is our absolute top priority,” says Noble.

“It is clear that staff and families are very passionate about advocating for smaller class sizes and that it is the right thing to do at this point.”

In terms of what classrooms will look like for students when they return to school, the board voted in favour of ensuring all classes allow for the distancing of students by a minimum of one meter. This is similar to the recommended guidance set by the government for other aspects of its reopening plan. “We have no choice but to be able to ensure we do everything we possibly can to be able to have one meter between our students. To me it’s non-debatable,” says Barrett.

However, according to Acting Director Norah Marsh, final numbers and class sizes can’t be determined until the board has received all of the information regarding how many parents have signed their students up for virtual learning. The deadline for parents to decide whether or not to send their children back to school or opt for virtual learning was Aug. 12.

“We do need to wait until families make up their mind in terms of how many students won’t be attending in person,” says Marsh.

She notes the virtual school is growing, which creates more opportunities within the schools to find space to be able to minimize class sizes.

According to Marsh, as of Aug 12, approximately 13 per cent of families had opted for virtual school, equating to 11,300 students, including 2,483 secondary and 8,860 elementary students.

The board also approved the plan for the return of school for secondary students, which provides for both in-class and virtual learning opportunities, as well as the virtual learning plan for elementary students.